ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team scored the final six points of the first quarter on consecutive treys from senior guards Taylor DePalma and Megan LeDuc to take a lead it would not relinquish as it defeated Howard, 67-55, this evening in Newman Arena. With the win, the Big Red has posted a 4-1 record for the first time since the 1999-2000 team went 5-1 with wins over Robert Morris, Lehigh, Wagner, Canisius, and Albany.
 
For the second consecutive game, DePalma achieved a career-high in points, leading the Big Red with 14, thanks to a 5-of-8 performance form the floor, which included a career-high four 3-pointers. LeDuc chipped in three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, while Nia Marshall posted 13 points, a team-high nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals. Kerri Moran finished with nine points and a team-high six assists, while freshman Maddy Reed grabbed seven rebounds to help the Big Red to a 43-41 advantage on the boards.
 
Cornell shot 40.7 percent overall (24-59) and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc (8-15), while assisting on 18-of 24 baskets. The Bison shot just 32.8 percent overall (21-64) and a mere 14.3 percent from 3-point range (1-7), while assisting on just 5-of-21 baskets.
 
Both teams turned the ball over 19 times, with the Big Red coming up with seven steals to Howard's three.
 
Howard (0-4) was led by Te'Shya Heslip's 17 points, while Jayla Myles posted a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double.
 
After taking the 17-11 lead at the first break, the Big Red used some smothering defense, scoring 13 points off Bison turnovers, to stretch its lead to 11 points (29-18) on a layup from Nia Marshall with 2:21 to play in the second quarter. Cornell went into halftime leading 34-23.
 
The Big Red came out of the intermission firing and pushed the advantage to a game-high 19 points (50-31) after a 3-pointer from LeDuc at the 3:09 mark. Howard cut into Cornell's lead by closing the third on a 6-2 run as the Big Red took the 52-37 lead into the final break.
 
Foul trouble early in the fourth quarter set the home team back and the Bison slowly pulled within single-digits (56-48) on a layup from Heslip with 4:35 to play. But that was as good as it got, as the teams traded baskets before a timely 3-pointer from LeDuc pushed Cornell's lead to 63-50 with 1:35 remaining and the Big Red rolled to the 67-55 victory.
 
The Big Red hits the road for a pair of games, taking on Pitt on Saturday, Nov. 26, before heading to Saint Francis University on Monday, Nov. 28