DOVER, Del. – The Big Red women's basketball team used a dominant performance on both ends of the floor to defeat Delaware State, 72-51, this evening in Memorial Hall in Dover, Del. With the win, Cornell improves to 9-4, tying the school record for the most non-conference wins in program history (9), set twice before (2007-08; 2014-15).
All 16 of Cornell's healthy players saw the court, and the Big Red's leading scorer,
Nia Marshall, finished with 16 points in just 21 minutes of action. She connected on 7-of-13 from the floor as she moved into 30th place in Ivy League history with 1,468 career points. Marshall also grabbed four rebounds and had two steals.
Taylor DePalma (11) and
Nicholle Aston (10) also finished in double figures, with Aston pulling down a team-high eight boards.
Janée Dennis and
Samantha Widmann were both solid late in the game, combining to go 6-of-7 from the floor and scoring seven points apiece, a career-high for Dennis. The backcourt duo of
Kerri Moran and
Megan LeDuc had six points and four assists apiece. LeDuc also had a team-high four steals.
The Big Red shot 51.7 percent overall (30-58) and 30.8 percent from 3-point range (4-13), while holding Delaware State to just 33.3 percent from the floor (19-57) and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc (5-14). Cornell held the slim 36-34 edge in rebounds but forced 22 Lady Hornet turnovers with 12 steals, resulting in a staggering 23-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
DSU (1-12) was led by Mikah Aldridge's 20 points. The Lady Hornet's leading scorer on the season, Najai Pollard, was held well below her 19-point, 10-rebound season average, as an aggressive Big Red offense got the sophomore forward into early foul trouble. She played just 20 minutes, including the final six minutes of the contest, but was 4-of-4 from the floor to finish with 12 points and three rebounds.
Neither team could get much going in the opening moments of the game, but the Big Red took a 4-2 lead at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter and never trailed again as the visitors closed the first and opened the second quarter on a 13-1 run to go up by double digits (28-13) with 3:06 to go before halftime.
Behind the strength of nine points by Marshall, the Big Red dominated the third quarter, going up by as many as 20 points early in the stanza on a layup from Aston.
Coach Smith went to the bench early in the fourth quarter, but the Big Red took its largest lead of the game (24 points) on a layup from Widmann with 5:59 to go in the contest and Cornell rolled to the 72-51 victory.
The Big Red returns home for the first time in 2017 when it opens up Ivy League play vs. Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. The game will be part of a double-header with the men tipping off vs. the Lions at 4 p.m.
