NEW YORK -- Sophomore forward Emily Pape netted her seventh-straight game in double figures, but it was not enough as the Cornell women's basketball suffered its fifth-consecutive loss to the Columbia Lions by a final of 82-53 on Saturday from Levien Gymnasium. The Lions improved to 11-4 and 2-0 in Ivy League play while the Big Red dropped to 6-8 and 0-2 in conference action.

Pape final statline was put together with 19 points, four rebounds, and a season-high six steal. But she was not the only Big Red athlete in double figures, as freshman Clarke Jackson scored a new career-high 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting while also adding a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Kaya Ingram rounded out the top scorers for Cornell with nine in a game that saw the red and white force the Lions into a season-high 24 turnovers, which led to 32 points. 

Senior Abbey Hsu was one of four Lions in double figures with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Kitty Henderson followed with her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Saturday's win for the Lions is also its fifth-straight over the Big Red dating back to a 65-57 decision on Jan. 26, 2019. 

First Quarter

• Cornell grabbed the first bucket of the game as senior captain Kaya Ingram drove to the bucket for a layup past Abbey Hsu, giving the Big Red an early 2-0 advantage. Emily Pape would respond to Ingram's bucket two possessions later with her first points on a driving layup, giving Cornell a 4-2 lead. The slight advantage for Cornell would dissipate quickly after, as a scoring drought of over three minutes allowed Columbia to race ahead thanks to a 6-0 run from the pairing of Kitty Henderson and Hsu to give the home team a 13-8 lead. 
• The Big Red finally found the bottom of the cylinder via the underclassmen connection, as a bullet pass by Pape to Clarke Jackson allowed for a nifty layup to break the drought and push within two possessions. But Cornell's offense went cold again after the made layup by Jackson, going 0-4 in just over two minutes. Columbia took advantage of the rough stretch by the visitors, stretching its lead out to nine thanks to points by Nicole Stephens and Paige Lauder. 
• Despite the scoreless streak, Cornell's offense and defense started to gain some traction as the final two minutes ran down. Emily Pape was the star over the stretch for the Big Red attack, hitting a step-back jumper followed by shaking her defender for a crisp three-pointer in front of the Lions bench to put Cornell within four after ten minutes. The Big Red defense also held its own over the final two minutes, forcing the Lions to give the ball away on its last three possessions.

Second Quarter

• The late push to end the first quarter for the Big Red came falling back to earth to open the second quarter, as Columbia slipped out to a 12-0 sprint over the first four minutes while forcing Cornell to go 0-3 over that stretch from the field to grab its largest lead of time at 29-13. Pape finally broke the drought for the Cornell offense, taking a pass from Summer Parker-Hall and sinking a jumper to become the first player on the court to hit double figures. 
• Pape's jumper seemed to spark Cornell again on both sides of the ball, holding the best offense in the Ivy League scoreless for over three minutes while adding six points combined from Ingram, Pape, and Jackson on offense to cut the Lions lead back down to ten. 
• The trend of miscues continued for the Lions just before the halftime buzzer because of the pesky Big Red defense, who forced three more turnovers. Pair that with a 3-of-4 showing from the free throw line trips Jackson and Rachel Kaus, and Cornell found itself within seven with just over a minute to go. But the Lions had the last laugh of the quarter, pairing two made free throws by Fliss Henderson and an easy layup for Susie Rafiu off a turnover by Ingram to head into the halftime break up by 11. 

Third Quarter

• A Kitty Henderson three opened the third quarter, making her the second player to hit double figures, after Pape.
• Three trips to the free throw line helped Cornell to respond with a 5-0 run to cut the Columbia lead to nine at 40-31, and a fifth team foul by the Lions ensure Cornell had 6:41 in the bonus.
• A Columbia three and driving layup on back-to-back possessions pushed Coach Smith to call timeout at a 47-33 Lions advantage.
• Pape was the first Big Red athlete to score from the field in the third, netting a close range jumper with 5:44 remaining in the quarter.
• Cornell was held to just three field goals in the quarter while Columbia outscored the Big Red by nine to lead 62-42.

Fourth Quarter

• Mia Beam nabbed the first points of the final frame for the Big Red on a three-pointer with the shot clock burning down. Pape would follow Beam's three with her 19th point on the night, driving through the Columbia defense for an easy layup to pull within 17. 
• Both teams hit a dry spell after the Pape bucket, going a combined 0-of-4 from the field until Nicole Stephens broke the scoring drought by going 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Ingram matched Stephen's free throw with a slicing layup that rolled off the back of the rim and in as she hit the floor. The senior would make the free throw seconds later. 
• After two consecutive buckets by Abbey Hsu, Azareya Kilgoe earned her spot in the scorebook, taking a cross-court pass from Kaus and sinking the third three-pointer of the night for the Big Red with 5:09 to go.
• But Kilgoe's three-pointer would be the last made basket of the night for the visitors, as Columbia ended the game on a 13-0 run to grab its fifth-straight win over Cornell, 82-53.

Big Red Notables

• Pape's 19 points mark her seventh-straight game in double figures, the most by a Big Red athlete since the 2021-22 season when Theresa Grace-Mbanefo had six consecutive.
• Clarke Jackson tallied a career-high 10 points in the contest, besting her previous high of eight set twice this season against UAlbany (Nov. 22) and Binghamton (Nov. 29).
• Cornell's 24 turnovers forced are the most the team has picked up since grabbing that same number in an eight-point loss to Penn on Jan. 6, 2023. 
• Columbia's 82 points is just the second time in the last decade that Cornell has given up north of 80 to its Ivy League foe. The other instance came last season when Columbia won 91-64 in Ithaca on Jan. 16, 2023. 

Up Next

Cornell will close out its first Ivy League road trip of the new year when it travels to Philadelphia to face Penn on Monday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. from the Palestra. The Big Red will look to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Quakers dating back to a 61-55 loss in Ithaca on Feb. 11, 2017.