ERIE, Pa. - Rachel Kaus notched her first career double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, leading Cornell to a 53-49 victory over Mercyhurst Thursday night as the Big Red shot 46.5 percent from the field at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. 
 
Kaus finished the game 6-for-12 from the floor while adding six assists and three steals. Clarke Jackson contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Emily Pape chipped in 11 points. Paige Engels finished with eight points and seven assists. Cornell went 5-for-13 from three, and won the battle on the glass, 35-28. 
 
Jenna Van Schaik led Mercyhurst with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while Lena Walz added 13 points. Alena Fusetti contributed seven points off the bench. As a team, Mercyhurst shot 33.3 percent from the field with a 30.8 percent mark from behind the arc.  
 
Cornell jumped out to an early lead, shooting a scorching 64.3 percent from the field in the first quarter. The Big Red built a 19-9 advantage after the opening 10 minutes behind six points apiece from Kaus and Jackson. 
 
The Big Red's offense went cold in the second quarter, managing just six points on 3-for-8 shooting. Mercyhurst capitalized with an 11-6 run, including eight points off turnovers, to trim Cornell's halftime lead to 25-20. 
 
Cornell responded in the third quarter with a dominant performance, shooting 58.3 percent from the field, including 60.0 percent from 3-point range. The Big Red outscored Mercyhurst 19-14 in the period to extend its lead to 44-34 entering the fourth quarter. Pape scored six of her 11 points in the third, connecting on two 3-pointers during the stretch. 
 
Mercyhurst mounted a rally in the fourth quarter, taking a 47-44 lead and holding Cornell scoreless for more than seven minutes. However, the Big Red wouldn't go away quietly as Pape hit a clutch 3-pointer at the 1:46 mark to give Cornell back its lead at 49-47. The Big Red sealed the victory by making four of six free throws in the final minute to hold off the Lakers. 
 
Game Notes 
• Cornell has won each of the first two meetings with Mercyhurst with both games being decided by three points or less.  
• The win marked the first for Cornell since Feb. 15, 2025 against Dartmouth and first on the road since Feb. 8, 2025 at Yale. 
• Cornell finished with season-highs in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, and rebounds.  
• The Big Red's 35 rebounds were the most since Feb. 8, 2025 against Yale.  
• Kaus, Jackson and Pape have recorded double figures in each of the last two games.  
• Kaus' double-double was the first by a Cornellian this season and first since Emily Pape recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double against Brown on March 1, 2025. It was the 23rd time Kaus finished with 10 or more points and first with double-digit rebounds.  
• Pape finished with double figures for the 47th time in her Cornell career and now has 868 career points, 132 away from 1,000 for her career.  
• Friday marked the 12th time Jackson notched double-digit points in her career.  
 
Next Up 
Cornell will finish its four-game road trip to begin the season with a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on Canisius on Sunday, Nov. 16 at noon.  
 
Canisius leads the all-time series 7-3, but Cornell has won two-straight against the Golden Griffins.