YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – After taking a slim 36-34 lead into halftime, the Big Red women's basketball team held Youngstown State without a field goal for a span of 5:33 to start the third quarter to build a 20-point lead, and then held off a frantic comeback by the Penguins to escape the Beeghley Center with a 80-75 victory this afternoon.
 
Coming off a 14-day hiatus for the University's study break, Cornell showed signs of rust early on in a first half that featured four ties and seven lead changes. The third quarter was a different story, as the Big Red clamped down on defense and used some crisp offense to improve to 6-3 on the season.  
 
Nia Marshall finished with a season-high 22 points, going 9-of-15 from the floor, to move into second place all-time in Cornell history for career points, while Taylor DePalma and Megan LeDuc finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Caroline Shelquist tallied a season-high nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 performance from beyond the arc, while Nicholle Aston posted a team-high seven rebounds to go along with six points and three assists. Kerri Moran also chipped in eight points and handed out five helpers.
 
Youngstown State (3-7) was led by Mary Dunn's 19 points and five rebounds, as four Penguins finished in double-digits.
 
Cornell shot .534 overall (31-58) and .500 (8-16) from beyond the arc, while the home team connected at a clip of .432 overall (27-56) but just .375 from 3-poinit range (6-16).
 
YSU held the slim 29-28 edge in rebounds but posted two more turnovers than the Big Red (16-14).
 
Cornell led by 20 points at the end of the third quarter (62-42), but the Penguins opened the fourth on a 15-4 run to get back within single digits (66-57). The home team eventually whittled the Big Red's lead to five points four times down the stretch, and just four points (76-72) with 53 second to play, but Aston hit a huge layup and Moran knocked down two free throws before a great defensive stop from LeDuc sealed the 80-75 victory.
 
The game turned on Cornell's outstanding third quarter performance, as the Big Re used locked-down defense to hold YSU without a field goal for a span of 5:33 to open the stanza and pushed its lead to 50-36. During the 14-2 run, Cornell got eight points form Marshall.  Cornell eventually extended its lead to 18 points (58-40) on trey from Janée Davis at the 1:27 mark before back-to-back layups from Marshall at the close of the quarter sent Cornell into the final break up, 62-42.
 
As dominant as the third quarter was, the first half was a much different story, as the teams battled back and forth. The Penguins jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Big Red responded with seven unanswered, including five points from DePalma and a steal and a finish from Moran, to go up, 7-4. Moments later, Marshall knocked down a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to move into second place in Cornell history for career points and give Cornell a lead it would hold until four consecutive Penguin free throws late in the quarter. Marshall temporarily returned the lead to Cornell on the visitor's next trip down the court, but a bucket at the buzzer sent YSU into the first break with the 16-15 lead.
 
After the Penguins extended their lead to 18-15 with the first bucket of the second quarter, Cornell used an 8-0 run, featuring six points from Danielle Jorgenson to go up, 23-18, at the 7:44 mark. The teams proceeded to trade baskets with some impressive shooting from Shelquist, who knocked down three 3-pointers in six minutes of action, keeping the Big Red in the lead throughout majority of the quarter. Four late points by YSU knotted the game with 41 ticks on the clock, but a late steal by Jorgenson lead to a layup at the buzzer by Moran to send the visitors into halftime with the 36-34 lead.  
 
The Big Red will play its final home game of 2016 when it welcomes Canisius to Newman Arena on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 5 p.m.
 
Notes to Know
• With her first bucket of the afternoon, a jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the 4:36 mark, Nia Marshall surpassed Keri Farley (1991-95) to move into second place in Cornell history, and 35th in the Ivy League, with 1,381 career points.
• With her seven assists, Megan LeDuc moved into ninth place in Cornell history with 284 career assists.
• Cornell improves to 2-0 all-time vs. Youngstown.
• The Big Red is 3-0 in games following a loss.
• Cornell improves to 3-2 in road games.
• Head coach Dayna Smith is now 3-2 all-time vs. the Horizon League.
• Coach Smith improves to 10-5 in the first game following the University's study break