Duhawks slow down Cornell women

Cornell couldn't get its shots to drop against a surging Loras squad Saturday afternoon in a 58-44 Iowa Conference home loss at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The Rams were held to 26.4 percent shooting and outscored 38-16 in points in the paint. Cornell struggled to convert against Loras' pressure defense and 6-foot-3 post Melissa Herrmann, who finished with seven blocked shots.

"Loras controlled the paint, and thus controlled the game," Cornell head coach Brent Brase said.

Cornell (7-10 overall) stands fifth in the IIAC race with a 5-5 record and six games to go. The Rams are one-half game ahead of sixth-place Dubuque (5-6), and hold a one-game lead over Buena Vista (4-6) in seventh. The top six teams qualify for the IIAC Tournament Feb. 21-25.

Freshman point guard Rikki Mulloy carried Cornell's offense with a game-high 17 points against Loras (13-7, 8-3 IIAC), which reeled off its fifth consecutive victory. Mulloy drained three 3-pointers and hit all four of her foul shots. She also collected four assists, four steals and three rebounds in 32 minutes.

Cornell led only briefly in the early stages, and fell behind 30-22 at halftime. The Duhawks stretched the margin to 42-24 with 12:55 remaining. The Rams connected on just 6-of-28 field goals (21.4 percent) in the second half.

Junior center Camille Marie-Lidd finished with a hard-earned 12 points and seven rebounds for the Rams. Taylor Dicus grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with five points. Kathryn Schilling dished out four assists.

The Rams turned the ball over 19 times to Loras' 17. Cornell held a 35-31 advantage on the boards. Loras shot 49.0 percent from the field, including a sizzling 60 percent (12-of-20) in the second half to take control.

Ram rookie - Mulloy continued her solid rookie campaign Saturday, reaching double figures scoring for the 11th time in 12 games. She ranks third in the IIAC in scoring at 14.4 points per game, two full points behind league leader Kayla Waskow of Coe. Mulloy is the only freshman among the IIAC's top-20 scorers.

Mulloy also stands in the IIAC's top 10 in assists (3.0 apg, seventh), 3-point goals made (1.59 pg, eighth) and steals (1.9 spg, ninth).