HARTFORD, Conn. – Cornell opened its 2026-27 season Monday night with a 100-35 loss to No. 2 UConn in front of 10,409 fans at PeoplesBank Arena. The Big Red falls to 0-1, while the Huskies improve to 1-0.
Senior Rachel Kaus led Cornell with eight points, going 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. Two first-years made an impact in their collegiate debuts, as Simone Richmond scored seven points and grabbed a team-high four rebounds, and Katie Leonard added five points, three rebounds and a block in 21 minutes. Sophomore Ally Pape also had seven points, and junior Kelsey Langston led the team with three assists.
Sarah Strong and Jovana Popovic each scored 19 points for UConn. Strong added eight steals and five assists, and Popovic shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-4 from deep. KK Arnold and Marine Dursus each added 11 points. The Huskies shot 54.9 percent from the field and forced 29 Cornell turnovers, scoring 43 points off them. UConn also held a 52-12 edge in the paint.
Kaus gave Cornell its only lead of the night, 3-2, with a 3-pointer off an Ashley Childers assist at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter. UConn then scored 21 straight points, and Pape's layup with 2:20 left in the quarter was the Big Red's only other basket of the period. The Huskies led 27-5 after one.
UConn carried a 21-0 run across the quarter break before Richmond hit a 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the second, ending a scoreless stretch of just over 10 minutes. Cornell closed the half on an 8-2 run, capped by a Childers jumper and a Leonard 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, to trail 46-13 at the break.
Cornell's best stretch came in the third quarter, when it scored 16 points. Clarke Jackson scored the first basket of the second half, and Audrey Chen added a jumper moments later. Pape and Kaus each hit from deep, and Pape closed the frame with a steal and layup. UConn led 67-29 after three, then outscored Cornell 33-6 in the fourth.
UConn's 100 points were the fourth time in program history an opponent reached triple digits against Cornell, and the first since Miami (Fla.) scored 101 in 2009. The 65-point margin is the second largest in program history. Monday was the second all-time meeting between the programs.
Next Up
Cornell will open the home portion of its schedule against Fredonia at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Newman Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. It is the second meeting between the programs and the first since 1976-77.
