PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Cornell women's hoops lost a tough battle to the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, January 6, falling 62-54. The Big Red effort was led by freshman and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, Emily Pape, who earned a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the contest.

Both teams got off to a slow start, with neither scoring until the 8:15 mark when Ania McNicholas opened the scoring with a pull-up jumper. Penn had the quick answer with a three-point ball, but McNicholas continued her scoring with a second jumper to take a 4-3 lead. Senior Shannon Mulroy only added to the Cornell lead when she converted an and-one layup into a three-point play to move up to a 7-3 lead. Penn found a 6-0 run to get the 9-7 lead, but Cornell battled in a 4-2 run to know the game at 11. Mia Beam then got started when she scored five points in just seven seconds after drilling three free throws from a three point foul, followed by a quick steal on the full court press by Kaya Ingram, who dished the ball to Beam for the easy layup. Penn closed with the momentum though, talling a 6-0 run to lead 17-16 after one quarter of play.

The second quarter was quiet on both sides of the ball, with both teams combining for just 19 points in the quarter. From 6:28-2:50, neither team found the basket, but Penn led at the half 28-24.

Despite ending the first half with a 4-0 run, Cornell went cold in the third through the media timeout at 6:10. Pape finally got the Big Red on the board with a jumper with 5:57 on the clock, but Penn maintained all the momentum with a 7-2 run in the next 1:09 of play. Ingram helped the Big Red offense get in rhythm, sparking a 6-2 Cornell run, but could not get a basket in the closing minute of the third, while Penn added one more layup to lead 49-34 over the Big Red.

Cornell and Penn traded free throws to open the fourth, with each team getting to the line and making two in the opening minute of play. Mulroy got the first live play basket of the fourth with a jumper and the Big Red forced a 21st Penn turnover of the game on a full court press, prompting a Penn timeout at 6:51. The Quakers got the first points out of the break, but Cornell freshmen Pape and Ruby Grace Williams each found the basket to cut the Penn lead to 11. Penn answered with a driving layup, but Summer Parker-Hall capitalized cashed in on an and-one put-back layup to cut the lead to 10. The Big Red defense held strong, and Mulroy got Cornell within single-digits at 55-47 with 2:02 left in the contest. The Big Red allowed only free throws the rest of the way, but the Quakers held on to their lead to win.

OF NOTE

• Pape's double-double is the first of her career and second this season for the Big Red (Summer Parker-Hall had 11 points and 10 rebounds at Hartford on Dec. 5, 2022).
• The double-double also marks just the third by and active-roster player.
• Ingram tallies her seventh game this season tallying double-digit points with her 10.

UP NEXT
Cornell has a quick turnaround when it travels to Princeton to take on the Ivy League pre-season favorite Tigers. Tip is set for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 7, 2023.