ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red women's basketball team held Yale to just 37 points, the lowest total scored by the Bulldogs in the series since defeating Cornell, 31-23, during the 1974-75 season, and offensively used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Yale 56-37 this evening in Newman Arena. With the win, Cornell improves to 15-8 overall and 6-3 in the Ivy League while taking sole possession of third place in the conference standings as Yale slipped to 11-12 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
 
The 15 wins overall are the most by the program since going 20-8 in the 2007-08 season.
 
Cornell used a 12-0 run early in the first half to take a lead it would not relinquish, and then used a second 12-0 run late in the second half to put the game away.
 
Sophomore guard Nicholle Aston was the only Big Red player to finish in double-figures, with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds, but Cornell received points from 8-of-10 players that played, with five scoring at least eight points.
 
Nia Marshall had nine points, two assists and two blocks, while Kerri Moran finished with nine points, and two assists. Maddie Campbell and Sarah Poland both registered eight points each. Campbell filled out the stat line with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block, while Poland was outstanding defensively and chipped in three rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
 
Yale was led by Katie Werner with seven points, while four others – Whitney Wyckoff, Mary Ann Santucci, Nyasha Sarju and Lena Munzer – tallied five points each.
 
Cornell shot 46.7 percent (21-45) for the game and hit 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, while using some stingy defense to hold the Bulldogs to just 25 percent from the floor (15-60) and 35.7 percent (5-14) from 3-point range.
 
The Big Red also held the slim 37-35 edge in rebounds.
 
Yale got out to an early 8-2 lead, but Cornell methodically worked its way back into the contest and LeDuc knocked down a trey from the corner to knot the game at 11-11. A jumper from Emmy Allen temporarily returned the lead to the visitors (13-11), but a jumper from Aston tied the game for the final time and sparked the decisive 12-0 run.
 
The Big Red went up by 12 points when Marshall hit a single free throw at the 5:31 mark but Yale used a small run to make it a seven-point game just before the half.  Campbell stole some momentum back for Cornell with an offensive rebound and putback with 20 seconds to play, sending the home team into the break with the 31-22 lead.
 
Yale came out of the intermission with tremendous energy and managed to make it a three-point game when a jumper by Tamara Simpson made it a 35-32 game at the 11:23 mark. Once again, Cornell responded with a 12-0 run to go up, 47-32, on a big trey from Christine Kline with 5:34 on the clock.
 
A pair of free throws by Lena Munzer ended the run, but back-to-back jumpers by Poland, followed by a layup from Moran pushed the Big Red's lead to 19 (53-34) with just over three minutes to play. From there, Cornell rolled to the 56-37 victory.
 
The Big Red will host its annual Play 4Kay game tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 21, when it welcomes Brown to Newman Arena at 6 p.m. Admission is free and fans are encouraged to wear pink.