PRINCETON, N.J. - Cornell was down by two, 48-46, heading into the fourth quarter where No. 19 Princeton outscored the Big Red 24-15 to earn a 72-61 victory over Cornell Saturday evening inside Jadwin Gymnasium.

Junior Rachel Kaus led a trio of double-digit scorers for Cornell (8-12, 3-4 Ivy) with a season-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, followed by senior Emily Pape, who chipped in 14 points. Junior Clarke Jackson finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Kelsey Langston led the Big Red with eight assists. As a team, Cornell shot 52.1 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from three.

Princeton (18-2, 6-1 Ivy)  was carried by a pair of 20-point scorers as Skye Belker and Olivia Hutcherson combined to go 17-for-26 from the field, with Belker knocking down 5-for-9 from three. The Tigers got a team-high nine rebounds from Fatima Tall and five assists from Belker. The nationally-ranked Tigers finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from behind the arc.

The Big Red went shot-for-shot with Princeton early on, never trailing by more than four throughout the first quarter going into the second down 18-16. The second quarter saw long scoreless droughts for both teams before the Tigers took a five-point lead, its largest of the half, 22-17, with 5:40 remaining in the frame.

From there Cornell would go on an 8-0 run with Kaus accounting for six of the eight, giving the Big Red its first lead of the evening, 25-22. Princeton would retake the lead briefly before the end of the half before Jackson connected on a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 27-27 going into the break.

Cornell's Pape would knock down back-to-back triples in the opening 2:50 of the second half to help the Big Red take a 39-35 lead, which bloomed to the team's largest lead of the game, 41-37, just over two minutes later.

From there, No. 19 Princeton outscored Cornell 11-5 over the final five minutes of the quarter to take a 48-46 lead into the fourth.

The Tigers opened that final quarter on a 10-2 run, taking a double-digit lead over the visiting Big Red. Cornell made it an eight point game at the 7:04 mark of the fourth, but Princeton wouldn't let the Big Red get any closer, holding on for the 11-point win.

Game Notes
• Saturday marked the 90th meeting all-time between Cornell and Princeton, with Princeton extending its lead in the all-time series, 69-21.
• The Tigers have won 16-straight over the Big Red. 
• Cornell shot over 50.0 percent from the field for the second time this season and first time in Ivy League play since Feb. 15, 2025. 
• For the second time in as many games, the Big Red shot over 43.0 percent from three. Cornell has shot 43.0 percent or better in three games this season. 
• Kaus matched her career-high 20 points she set on Nov. 29, 2023 against Binghamton. It was the 14th time this season the junior recorded double figures. 
• Jackson led the team in rebounding for the ninth time this season, while Langston led the team in assists for the 11th time. 
• Pape and Jackson each recorded their 10th games this season with double-digits in the scoring column. 

Next Up
Cornell will return to Newman Arena on Saturday, Feb. 7 when it hosts Columbia for a 1 p.m. Ivy League battle on ESPN+. The Big Red are 51-34 all-time against the Lions after defeating Columbia on the road 67-60 on Jan. 3.