Rams net 107 vs. Knox, split two in Classic

The Cornell women's basketball team enjoyed a record-setting opening night in Tuesday's 107-67 rout of Knox, and then split a pair of games over the weekend in the Cornell Classic at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The Rams (2-1) rolled to a 68-45 victory over Aurora Friday night, followed by a 66-60 setback to Carroll Saturday afternoon.

Opening week saw 15 different Rams score a point, and 11 players log more than 20 minutes during the three-game homestand. Cornell got a look at a pair of future 2012-13 Midwest Conference opponents in Knox and Carroll.

"I thought we played well defensively considering this is early in the season," Cornell seventh-year head coach Brent Brase said. "We also showed signs of being a good rebounding team. It was good to go against three different styles of basketball."

The Rams thrived against the run-and-gun Knox squad, setting single-game school records for field goal percentage (60.6) and rebounds (65). The 43 made field goals and 29 assists were second-most ever recorded by a Cornell squad. The team's 21 steals and 107 points both were top-five marks in a game.

The Rams raced to a 52-33 halftime lead in holding the Prairie Fire to 10-of-50 shooting. Cornell outscored the guests 39-19 over the final 10 minutes of the second half.

Junior center Camille Marie-Lidd matched her career high with 28 points to go with 10 rebounds. Junior newcomer Leonie de Jonge also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Kathryn Schilling provided 14 points, five rebounds and five steals.

Point guard Rikki Mulloy finished with 10 points, six assists and five steals in her collegiate debut. Chelsea Harris had a game-high seven assists and four steals for the Rams, who held a 65-47 advantage on the boards and had 13 players etch into the scoring column.

Cornell's 33 turnovers proved to be the lone blemish on the night.

"We didn't take care of the ball very well in any of the games, and that will be an area of concentration during the upcoming weeks," Brase said. "We need to be a 10-12 turnover-a-game team in this department. The team has a great work ethic and attitude, which should allow us to see continual improvement as we move forward."

Mulloy took over early in the Aurora contest, netting 15 of her 22 points in the first half as Cornell built a 30-18 lead. She finished 7-of-18 shooting while going 7-of-8 from the foul line. Mulloy added three steals in 28 minutes of work.

Marie-Lidd went off for another double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Rams to a 45-38 rebounding edge over Aurora. Freshman India Pearce and de Jonge chipped in seven points apiece. Pearce added four assists off the bench.

Kelly Tweito totaled four rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Teresa Cecchetti had five rebounds and three blocks for a Cornell defense that forced 30 turnovers and limited the Spartans to 29.2 percent (14-of-48) shooting.

The Rams endured a tough shooting game (20-of-58, 34.5 percent) against Carroll. But despite missing 15 of its first 16 field goals, Cornell hung in and was tied 26-26 at halftime. A Mulloy layup pulled the Rams to within 42-41 with 9:49 to go. Carroll stretched the margin to 55-46 with 3:24 remaining and hit 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Marie-Lidd shot 8-of-16 from the field and finished with 16 points to lead the Rams, who misfired on all 11 of their 3-point attempts. Mulloy tossed in 12 points, while de Jonge and Pearce netted nine apiece. Cecchetti and de Jonge led the Rams on the glass with nine and eight rebounds, respectively.

Coming up - The Rams return to action Sunday, Nov. 27 with a 3 p.m. road game against UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds (2-1) are picked fourth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after finishing 15-11 overall last season.

Cornell opens Iowa Conference play Wednesday, Nov. 30 at four-time defending league champion Simpson, which is the favorite to win it again this season.