Defense keys 67-47 win over Norse

Cornell got it done on the defensive end and remained a contender in the Iowa Conference race with a 67-47 victory over Luther Saturday afternoon at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The Rams (6-7 overall) recorded just their second win over Luther since 2004, thanks to a stifling defense that forced 22 turnovers and limited the Norse to 25.0 percent shooting. Cornell outscored the guests 33-16 in the second half.

"We did some nice things, but still have a lot of room for improvement," Cornell head coach Brent Brase said.

Cornell moved into a tie with Simpson for third place in the IIAC standings at 4-2, one-half game behind Wartburg (5-2) in second. Coe is the leader at 6-1.

The Rams have a big week ahead, starting with tonight's (Jan. 16) road contest at 6 p.m. against Wartburg. Cornell is home Wednesday, Jan. 18 to battle the rival Coe Kohawks at 6 p.m., and then turns around for a quick rematch with Luther at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 in Decorah.

Cornell and Luther battled back and forth in a game of big scoring runs. The Rams were quick out of the chute, racing to a 16-1 lead only 4:03 into the game. The Norse (4-11, 1-5 IIAC) reeled off 22 of the next 26 points and took a brief 23-20 lead with 8:37 to go in the first half. The Rams then answered with a 13-0 spurt and held on for a 34-31 lead at intermission.

Cornell was dominant in the second half, holding Luther to 6-of-34 shooting (17.6 percent). The Rams opened the half on a 14-3 run and were not threatened the rest of the way.

Junior guard Kathryn Schilling collected seven of the team's 14 steals against the Norse. Her seven swipes were fourth-most by a Ram player, three off the school's single-game record. Schilling, the IIAC steals leader at 2.85 per game, also pitched in 16 points and four rebounds.

Freshman Rikki Mulloy netted a game-high 19 points behind 7-of-16 shooting. She added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Camille Marie-Lidd was one rebound shy of a double-double, totaling 10 points and nine boards. Taylor Dicus had seven points and eight rebounds.

The Rams got nine points off the bench from freshman India Pearce. Chelsea Harris came away with four steals.

Cornell shot 41.8 percent from the floor and converted 18-of-25 foul shots. The Rams held a 45-44 edge in rebounds.

Milestone watch - Cornell's Marie-Lidd is closing in on 1,000 career points. The 6-foot-2 junior enters the week with 969 points, attempting to become the fifth Cornell woman to reach the milestone. Tiffany Cowan (2005-09) was the last Ram to score 1,000 points, and finished with 1,122.

Marie-Lidd ranks sixth in the IIAC in scoring at 13.5 points per game. She is shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 71.9 from the foul line.

Coming up - Cornell looks to end a seven-game series skid tonight at Wartburg. The team's last win over the Knights was a 74-71 overtime decision at home in 2008.

The Rams have dropped three straight and eight of the last nine contests against Coe, which received national votes in last week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.