PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Cornell women's basketball's three-game win streak was soiled Monday afternoon with a 87-60 loss to Duquesne. Cornell was led by senior captain Ania McNicholas, who tallied 19 points in the outing.

Duquesne was the first on the board with a layup 16 seconds after winning the jump ball, but McNicholas had the Big Red answer with a give-and-go passing play at the baseline with Kaya Ingram, opening her up for a three. The Dukes strung together a 9-4 run to lead Cornell at the media timeout, 11-7. The Big Red force a turnover and McNicholas tallied her second three of the day to make it a one point game at 11-10 with 4:22 remaining in the quarter. The Dukes expanded their lead to eight before the end of the first quarter, going on a 12-5 run to lead Cornell 23-15 after 10 minutes of play.



The Dukes opened the second with an 8-2 run before Mia Beam cashed her second three pointer of the day at 7:41. The Dukes responded with a three of their own just 20 seconds later to lead 34-20. Duquesne held Cornell to just eight points across the next seven minutes, while scoring 14 to lead 48-28 at the half.



Tess Myers of Duquesne tallied two three-pointers in the first 2:01 of the second half, separated by a layup from Summer Parker-Hall. The Dukes continued with a 6-2 run the included another Myers three. Ingram then drew a sting of fouls, where she went 3-for-4 from the line. McNicholas then earned an and-one layup on the full court press, which she converted for the three-point-play to trail 63-38. The teams closed in an 7-6 battle, but Duquesne still held a 70-44 lead after three quarters of play.



The Big Red found a spark in the fourth quarter, opening on an 11-2 run that included five forced turnovers. Duquesne responded with a 8-2 run, to take back some of their lead, forcing a Cornell timeout with 4:16 remaining in the game with Cornell trailing 80-58. The Dukes held Cornell to just two points the rest of the contest, while scoring seven.

UP NEXT
The Big Red wrap up the road non-conference slate with a game at Penn State on Wednesday, December 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Tip-off against the Nittany Lions is set for 12 p.m.