NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Cornell women's basketball fell to 1-3 in league play, and went under .500 (8-9) for the first time since November 30th, when the team beat Binghamton at home to move to 4-4. In a 68-56 loss to Yale on Saturday, January 14 in the John J. Lee Amphitheater, senior captain Ania McNicholas led the Big Red scoring effort with 16 points.

The Big Red got off to a strong start, with McNicholas turning the won jump ball into points on a driving layup. Cornell continued on a 4-2 run with layups by Kaya Ingram and Shannon Mulroy. The Bulldogs found their rhythm though, battling back to knot the game at 8-8 with 4:07 left in the first. Yale followed up the basket with a quick steal and tried to take back the lead, but recovery defense by McNicholas kept the Bulldogs from scoring while bringing up the media timeout at 3:45. Yale found the basket at 1:42 to take its first lead of the contest, 10-8. The Bulldogs had two back-to-back scores to close out the quarter, but Mulroy got the Big Red back within three at 14-11 when she hit a long three to beat the buzzer.

The momentum was with Yale to open the second. Emily Pape's jumper to get Cornell within one was combated with two straight Bulldog three pointers to give the team a 20-13 lead, spurring a timeout from Cornell. The timeout proved to do the trick, with Cornell earning a 10-5 run to trail by just two with 4:54 remaining in the second quarter. A fifth team foul committed by Mulroy at 3:20 gave Yale a four point lead, but a driving layup by Ruby Grace Williams just 13 seconds later coupled with two free throws from Anna Hovis tied the contest at 27 with 2:40 to go. The Bulldogs would hit a pair of free throws and a layup to lead 31-27 at half. The Big Red collectively shot at a 47.8% clip from the field in the first half.

The Bulldogs opened on a 4-0 stretch before Hovis and McNicholas took advantage of being at the line to add three free throws. Mia Beam earned the first live ball points of the second half for Cornell, powering to the basket on a driving layup. Yale responded with a long three to make it 38-32, Bulldogs. Yale would build its lead to 45-32 before Pape could get another basket for the Big Red. Each team would trade free throws to close out the quarter 47-36, Yale.

Yale opened the fourth quarter scoring with a three, but Cornell could only was sent to the line for a pair of shots only 14 seconds later. Mulroy could only make one of the two, bringing the Big Red deficit to 50-37. Mulroy was then called for an intentional foul at 7:29, leading to two made free throws for Yale. Another foul on the Bulldogs' possession gave Yale the 54-37 lead. Summer Parker-Hall earned her first points of the day in a big way, cashing in on an and-one opportunity to make it a 14-point game. A game heavy in fouls would see just seven live-scoring baskets through the remainder of the game.

OF NOTE

• Freshman Ruby Grace Williams tied her career-high steals with four.
• Freshman Emily Pape led the team in rebounds for a third consecutive game with nine.
• Pape was one rebound shy of her second career double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
Cornell returns home to host Columbia in the Ivy Leagues celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. The Big Red and Lions are set to tip off at 2 p.m. on January 16th on ESPN+.