PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Six consecutive successful offense trips to open the second half by Brown was too much for the Cornell women's basketball team to overcome as the Big Red fell 75-66 to the Bears on Saturday night from the Pizzitola Sports Center. Brown improved to 15-11 (6-7 Ivy), and the Big Red fell to 7-18 (1-12 Ivy).

Summer Parker-Hall was the leading scorer for the Big Red with 12 points and falling a rebound short of a double-double with nine. Senior Kaya Ingram secured double figures for the 13th time this season with 11, while Rachel Kaus had 10 points off the bench on a team-best 5-of-7 shooting. Clarke Jackson closed out the top scorers with nine points and a game-high four steals in the loss for Cornell, which extended its losing streak to seven straight contests.

Grace Arnolie paced Brown's offense, tying her career high with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Three other players joined Arnolie in the double figures department in Mya Murray (12), Olivia Young (12), and Isabella Mauricio (11). Murray and Alyssa Moreland also tied Parker-Hall with nine rebounds. Brown's victory keeps them in contention for the final spot in Ivy Madness with only one week left in the regular season.

Cornell's offense had a rough patch in the opening two minutes and change on offense, going 0-4 to start. The Big Red finally got on the scoreboard with 7:41 to go in the opener thanks to Vivienne Knee, who took a feed from Emily Pape into the teeth of the Brown defense for a layup to tie things at two. The Bears and the Big Red traded blows after the Knee layup as Grace Arnolie and Kaya Ingram rattled home three-pointers about a minute apart. Ingram's bucket turned the tide with a 6-0 run combined from Knee, Summer-Parker Hall, and Azareya Kilgoe, giving Cornell an 11-5 lead. Brown cut the Big Red lead to two late on a three by Olivia Young before Ingram had the last points of the opener on a slick jumper to keep Cornell ahead by four after ten minutes of action.

A stalemate began early in the second stanza as both teams combined for four points over the first 2:30. Brown took advantage first in the quarter, taking a 20-19 lead on a mini 5-0 run from two free throws by Mya Murray and a three by Kyla Jones. Kaus kept the Big Red in contention after the Brown run by securing her first four points of the game on consecutive possessions to knot things at 23 apiece. The pendulum continued to swing between both teams until two successful free throws by Isabella Mauricio pushed the Bears ahead, 28-27. Brown stretched its lead up to 36-29 with 31 seconds left on a hoop and the harm from Grace Arnolie before Parker-Hall sunk two from the charity stripe to put the Big Red within five heading into the break.

Brown kept its foot on the gas pedal to open the third, scoring points on seven consecutive trips into Cornell's defensive end to jump ahead to its largest lead at 16. Kaus and Clarke Jackson tried to provide a spark halftime through the third with a jumper and a fastbreak layup to cut the deficit to 12. The Big Red did not get any closer in the quarter, as Brown headed into the final quarter with a 14-point cushion.

Brown drew first blood in the final quarter on a three by Olivia Young to stretch its lead to 61-44 before Lexi Green matched Young's three with her first points of the game on a driving layup. Cornell started to find its rhythm from the field after bucket, sparking an 8-1 run over 3:01 to trim the deficit to 11. Kaus also caught fire in that span, being the first Big Red athlete to reach double figures. The Big Red continued to push the envelope with the minutes trickling down, cutting the Bears cushion down to six with 1:04 left. But another three by Young just before the shot clock expired with 34 seconds left proved to be the dagger in Cornell's comeback hopes, as Brown secured the season sweep with a nine-point victory. 

BIG RED NOTABLES

• Summer Parker-Hall's 12 points are the most the junior has had in Ivy League action since having 15 at Penn on Jan. 15. 
• Rachel Kaus and Azareya Kilgoe each crossed the 200 point mark during Saturday's contest, joining Ingram (259) and Pape (252) as the other Big Red athletes to hit that metric. It is also the third time in the last four seasons that at least four players have secured 200 points in a season.
• The Big Red put 66 points in Saturday's loss to secure scoring north of 65 in the fifth of last six battles in the Pizzitola Sports Center. 
• Cornell secured ten or more assists for the eighth consecutive game. It is the longest streak of the season for the Big Red.
• Cornell's defense clamped down on the Bears season leading scorer, Kyla Jones, holding her to her third-lowest scoring output of the year (8 points). 

UP NEXT
Cornell will close its 2023-24 season by hosting the Columbia Lions on Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m. from Newman Arena. The team will also celebrate its three seniors and their contributions to the program in Mia Beam, Kaya Ingram, and Val Garcia-Martinez.