PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Cornell women's basketball team had three players finish in double-figures, and used relentless defensive pressure to hold the top offensive team in the Ivy League to 20 points below its season average, as the Big Red defeated Brown, 65-53, this evening in the Pizzitola Center in Providence, R.I.
 
Laura Bagwell-Katalinich led the Big Red with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the fifth double-double of her career, and her 14th straight game in double-digits. Kate Sramac finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Samantha Widmann tallied 11 points, including nine in the decisive fourth quarter. Samantha Clement had nine points and seven rebounds, while Halley Miklos added eight points and five boards to the cause.
 
Brown (9-14, 1-6 Ivy) was led by Justine Gaziano's game-high 17 points, while Erika Steeves and Taylor Will chipped in 10 points apiece. Steeves also had a team-high nine boards.
 
Cornell held the significant 47-30 advantage in rebounding, which was crucial to limit the Brown offense in second chance opportunities. The Big Red also had one of its best shooting nights of the season, connecting on .438 from the floor (21-48) and .333 from 3-point range (7-21). Cornell's defense was outstanding, holding the Bears well below their season shooting averages, as the home team connected on just .292 overall (19-65) and a mere .167 from beyond the arc (4-24).  
 
The Bears forced Cornell into 28 turnovers, but were not able to capitalize as well as it liked with just a 16-15 advantage in points off turnovers. Cornell forced Brown into 17 miscues.
 
Cornell won the opening tip and Sramac canned a trey to give the visitors an early lead, but six turnovers in the first five minutes of the contest allowed the Bears to take a 6-5 lead at the first media time out. Bagwell-Katalinich knocked down a pair of free throws and after a tough defensive stand Miklos hit a layup to give Cornell a 9-6 lead at the 4:23 mark.
 
The Big Red took the slim 16-14 lead into the first break and the teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second quarter before a trey from Steeves and a steal and finish from Dominique Leonidas staked the home team a 29-24 lead. Cornell responded with a run of its own, as Clement knocked down a trey, followed by a layup from Miklos to knot the game again at 29-29 at the 2:39 mark.
 
The Bears made one last push to go up 35-30 with time winding down, but once again Clement had the answer from beyond the arc before coming up with a steal on Brown's next possession and feeding the ball ahead to Caitlyn Smith, who finished to tie the game at 35-35 with :19 showing on the clock.
 
Traiva Breedlove drew a foul on the Bears next trip up the floor and hit one free throw to send the home team into the break with the slim 36-35 lead.
 
Brown scored the first four points of the third quarter to push its advantage to 40-35 before a baseline jumper from Miklos ended Cornell's scoring drought at the 6:19 mark. Gaziano responded with a basket on the home team's next trip down the floor, but back-to-back treys from Smith and Sramac opened up a decisive 13-0 run to stake the Big Red a 50-42 lead with 1:28 to go in the quarter. Sramac had eight points during the run. Gaziano ended the run with a foul line jumper with under one minute to go in the quarter but the Big Red took the 50-44 lead into the final break.
 
Steeves opened the scoring in the fourth with a trey for the home team, but a pair of made free throws from Widmann opened a 5-0 run to push Cornell's lead to 55-47. The Bears fought back to make it a 55-51 game with 5:44 to play, but clutch free throw shooting and some stellar defense from Widmann, including a drawn charge and a steal over the final 1:30 of the contest, sparked a 10-2 run to close the game.
 
Cornell (8-10, 2-5 Ivy) is back in action tomorrow night when it travels to Yale for a 5 p.m. contest at the Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.