Marie-Lidd scores 1,000th career point

Cornell junior Camille Marie-Lidd scored her 1,000th career point and the Rams climbed back over the .500 mark in Iowa Conference play with a 65-50 road win Saturday over Luther.

Marie-Lidd recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in leading the Rams to their first win in Decorah since 2003. Her 1,000th point came on a bucket in the paint with 1:19 remaining in the second half.

Marie-Lidd sank a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, putting her at 1,003 points through 64 games (15.6 ppg) at Cornell. The 6-foot-2 center is the fifth member of Cornell's 1,000-point club, and fast approaching Lisa Fry's all-time scoring record of 1,189 points set from 1998-02. Cornell's other 1,000-point scorers are Tiffany Cowan (1,122 points, 2005-09), Bindy Comito (1,036 points, 1998-02) and Marni Chandlee (1,031 points, 1998-02).

"Anytime you score 1,000 career points it is a very special accomplishment, and to do this in your junior year is even more special," Cornell head coach Brent Brase said. "This is a great accomplishment for a very special player and person. She's put in a lot of hours in the offseason to become the player she is. It is nice to see her hard work acknowledged."

Saturday's win moved the Rams (7-9 overall) into a tie with Dubuque for fifth place in the IIAC standings at 5-4. Cornell is only one game out of second place behind a trio of teams (Simpson, Wartburg and Loras) at 6-3. The Rams have seven conference games left to play.

Cornell came up short earlier last week against Wartburg and Coe. The Rams fell 72-58 on the road to Wartburg Jan. 16, and lost by a single point to IIAC leader Coe, 63-62, before a big home crowd Wednesday night.

"We've been playing very consistent basketball since the break," Brase said. "I thought we did the same at Luther, playing sound both offensively and defensively. The challenge we face and the goal we've set is to raise our level of play; and that requires even more concentration and intensity."

Freshman Rikki Mulloy helped Cornell's cause against Luther (5-13, 2-7 IIAC) with a game-high 23 points, behind 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Kathryn Schilling dropped in three 3-pointers for the Rams, who drained a season-best 11 3-point goals on 20 attempts.

The Rams shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field and outscored Luther 36-25 in the second half. Chelsea Harris scored all six of her points during a 9-2 Cornell run down the stretch that put the game away.

Schilling collected 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mulloy dished out four assists and Harris had three steals.

Cornell took the rival Kohawks (13-5, 7-2 IIAC) down to the wire with a chance to pull the upset on the game's final possession. Down five points with 1:46 to go, Cornell got a bucket from Marie-Lidd, followed by a steal and layup from Schilling that made it 63-62 with 29 seconds remaining.

Coe missed the front end of two 1-and-1 trips to the foul line, giving the Rams the ball with 15 seconds to go. Mulloy, who led all scorers with 20 points, misfired on a deep contested 2-point shot just before time expired.

The Rams shot lights out early, hitting 7-of-12 3-pointers in the first half to take a 35-31 lead into intermission. The game witnessed seven ties and seven lead changes, with Cornell's last lead coming at 55-54 after a Mulloy 3-pointer with 4:43 to go.

Cornell got three 3-pointers apiece from Mulloy, Harris and freshman India Pearce. Pearce was perfect from long range and 4-of-5 from the floor in a solid 11-point outing off the bench. Harris and Marie-Lidd had nine points apiece. Marie-Lidd led the team with seven rebounds. Schilling had six steals and five rebounds.

Freshman Taylor Dicus and Marie-Lidd posted identical stat lines of 11 points and seven rebounds against Wartburg (13-5, 6-3 IIAC), a game the Rams built an early 10-point lead. The Knights took control with a 24-4 run to end the first half.

Schilling finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals. Brianna Meeks added seven points and three rebounds off the bench. Cornell shot 35.8 percent from the field, compared to Wartburg's 48.1.

Rebound list - Along with her 1,000th point, Marie-Lidd pulled down her 500th career rebound late in Saturday's Luther game. She now has 501 rebounds, ranking sixth on the program's all-time list. Marie-Lidd joined Fry (700 rebounds) and Cowan (694 rebounds) as the only Rams to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.

Rams in the rankings - Schilling collected 10 steals in three games last week, raising her IIAC-best total to 47 on the season. She averages 2.94 steals per game.

Mulloy jumped to fourth in the league in scoring at 14.3 points per game. She is sixth in assists (2.9 apg). Marie-Lidd stands third in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and sixth in scoring (13.1 ppg). Dicus is fourth in field goal percentage (49.5).

Coming up - Cornell has a mid-week bye before meeting Loras (11-7, 6-3 IIAC) in a key home game Saturday, Jan. 28 in the Small Multi-Sport Center. The Rams claimed a 75-61 win over Loras earlier this month in Dubuque.