ITHACA, N.Y. – Nia Marshall was nearly perfect in racking up 31 points to power the Big Red women's basketball team to a 64-57 win over Binghamton this evening in Newman Arena. The junior forward went 15-of-16 from the field, tying the school record for field goals made in a single game, and also finished tied for 10th all-time in NCAA history for the highest single game shooting percentage (.938).
 
In the process, Marshall also recorded her 1,000th career point and became the first player in Big Red women's basketball history to register four 30-point games in a career.  The junior reached the 1,000-point plateau in just her 68th career game, faster than anyone other than Karen Walker '91
 
Marshall wasn't the only player to impress, as Nicholle Aston posted her 10th career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Kerri Moran finished with seven points and handed out seven assists, while Maddie Campbell finished with four points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
In total, six of the eight Big Red players handed out at least two assists, as Cornell registered more assists (23) than Binghamton made shots (21).
 
Cornell shot .529 percent overall and .400 percent from beyond the arc, while holding the Bearcats to just .396 percent overall and .250 percent from 3-point range. The Big Red also outrebounded the visitors 34-27. Both teams turned the ball over 16 times.
 
Still the Bearcats stayed in the contest thanks to three double-digit scorers – Alyssa James (19) and Imani Watkins (16) and Kim Albrecth (12).
 
The Big Red started the game on a tear, jumping out to an 8-0 lead with Campbell assisting on the first three Cornell baskets. Binghamton responded to pull within five points (10-5), but the home team managed to take the 17-11 lead into the first break after a layup from LeDuc.
 
Cornell kept up the offensive pressure early in the second period and back-to-back buckets from Aston, including a foul line jumper in transition after a Moran steal, put the Big Red up by double-digits (28-18) with 4:47 to play in the quarter. Some foul trouble down the stretch cooled the Cornell offense and Binghamton scored the final four points to make it 28-22 at the half.
 
The Bearcats carried the momentum into the third quarter and tied the game at 31-31 on a layup from James at the 6:26 mark, but four unanswered points by Marshall opened up a decisive 10-3 Cornell run that put the home team up, 41-34 with 2:28 to play in the quarter.
 
Cornell pushed its lead back to double-digits early in the fourth quarter and eventually took its biggest lead at 56-42 on a 3-pointer by Moran with just over seven minutes to play. The Bearcats made one final push to get within six points (58-52) at the 3:36 mark but consecutive buckets by Marshall and Aston ended the threat and sent the Big Red to the 64-57 victory.
 
The Big Red is back in action this weekend as it opens the 2016 portion of its schedule at Howard on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.