HANOVER, N.H. – Cornell, led by a trio of scorers in double figures, earned a wire-to-wire 61-52 win over Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Leede Arena to start 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2017.
 
Junior Clarke Jackson led Cornell with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding a team-high seven assists. Senior Emily Pape, who notched her 1,000th career point in the contest, added 14 points with four 3-pointers and eight rebounds, while Rachel Kaus finished with 10 points, four boards and three steals. Sophomore Kelsey Langston contributed six points on 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc, dishing out three assists, while fellow sophomore Paige Engels also had seven points and five assists. As a team, Cornell (6-8, 2-0 Ivy) shot 41.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range, getting 12 points from its reserves, 12 off turnovers and another 24 in the paint.
 
Dartmouth (9-6, 0-2 Ivy) was led by Cate MacDonald with 12 points and six rebounds. Alexandra Eldredge and Zeynep Ozel each finished with 10 points, with Eldredge and Ozel each adding five assists. Olivia Austin contributed eight points and six rebounds. The Big Green shot 38.9 percent from the floor, including 16.7 percent from the perimeter.
 
Cornell's defense set the tone early in the first quarter, limiting Dartmouth to just six points on 3-for-14 shooting. The Big Red built a 19-6 lead after 10 minutes, with Pape knocking down two 3-pointers in the period. Cornell would take a 29-17 lead into halftime, sparked by 12 first-half points in the paint and nine off Dartmouth turnovers.
 
The Big Red maintained its double-digit advantage through much of the third quarter, extending the lead to 44-28 with 1:48 remaining in the period on Jackson's layup. Cornell led 44-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Dartmouth opened the final period on an 8-4 run over the first two minutes, cutting the deficit to 48-36. Eldredge made a three-point play at the 5:41 mark, bringing the Big Green within nine, 48-39, before Kaus answered with a layup at 5:23 to push the lead back to 11.
 
Langston knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining, giving Cornell a 55-43 advantage. Dartmouth would get within seven, 55-48, with 58 seconds to play, but Jackson made four free throws in the final 39-seconds and Chen added two more at the 32-second mark to seal Cornell's nine-point victory.
 
Game Notes
•  Cornell improves to 29-63 all-time against Dartmouth, including a 9-36 record on the road.
• The Big Red are 2-0 in Ivy League action for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
• Cornell has now won back-to-back league games for the first time since the 2019-20 season. 
• Cornell matched its season-best with 23 made field goal attempts.
• Pape became the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
• The 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for Jackson was her second of her career and first of the 2025-26 season. She joins Kaus as the only other member of the Big Red to record a double-double this season.
•  Pape led the Big Red in scoring for the third-consecutive game and sixth time this season.
• Kaus recorded double-digit points for a team-leading 11^th time this season.
• Jackson led the team in assists for the second-straight game, matching her career-high set last week at Columbia.
 
Next Up
Cornell will return home for a four-game stretch beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 13 with a 1 p.m. contest against SUNY Delhi (DIII). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and be the first meeting between the two programs.