Rams punch ticket to IIAC Tournament

Cornell's women's basketball team is headed back to the postseason. The Rams left no doubt Saturday afternoon with a 76-62 home win over Buena Vista on Senior Day at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

Cornell canned a season-high 12 3-point goals and freshman point guard Rikki Mulloy went off for a career-high 29 points in a game the Rams controlled from the opening tip.

The Rams (9-14 overall, 7-9 IIAC) secured the sixth and final spot in the Iowa Conference Tournament and travel to play No. 3 seed University of Dubuque (15-10, 10-6 IIAC) in a first-round game at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21 at Stoltz Sports Center in Dubuque. The teams split two regular-season meetings, with the Spartans rallying for a 59-53 win last Wednesday in Dubuque.

The Cornell-Dubuque winner meets No. 2 seed Coe (18-7) in a semifinal on Thursday, Feb. 23 in Cedar Rapids. No. 4 seed Wartburg (17-8) hosts No. 5 seed Loras (14-11) in Tuesday's other first-round matchup, with No. 1 seed Simpson (20-5) awaiting the winner.

"This all starts with our great group of seniors (Morgan Woods, Kelly Tweito, Rose Waskosky and Teresa Cecchetti)," said Cornell head coach Brent Brase, of the program's first IIAC Tournament berth since the 2005-06 season. "They are just tremendous young ladies. I'm so happy for them because they've worked so hard to get the program to this point."

Cornell found its shooting touch early against Buena Vista, which beat the Rams 61-60 last month in Storm Lake. The Rams raced out to a 12-2 lead, stretched the margin to 23-7 at the 10-minute mark and took a 40-19 advantage into intermission.

Mulloy, who sat out Wednesday's Dubuque contest with an ankle injury, hit her first six field goals against the Beavers and had 17 points by halftime. She finished the game 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from long range while making all six of her free throw attempts. Mulloy also dished out four assists and had three steals in a sterling 28 minutes of work.

The Rams connected on 12-of-26 shots from 3-point range, four triples coming from sophomore Caitlin Bisinger who netted 14 points. Camille Marie-Lidd added 12 points and seven rebounds. Taylor Dicus grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Chelsea Harris led the Rams with five assists. Woods chipped in six rebounds in her final home game.

"We played with a lot of enthusiasm and energy and that was fueled by hitting threes in that first half," Brase said. "It's also very beneficial to have Caitlin back and healthy, because that gives us that second strong perimeter scorer."

Cornell built its biggest lead at 74-49 on a pair of Mulloy free throws with 3:19 to go. The Rams passed out 18 assists, their most in an IIAC game this season. The defense held the Beavers to 29.4 percent shooting, including just 5-of-28 field goals in the first half.

Dubuque rematch - The Rams look to avenge last week's loss against Dubuque, a game which Cornell led by 10 points early in the second half. The Spartans used a 16-1 run down the stretch to take a 51-41 lead with 4:16 remaining and held on for the win.

Dicus paced the Rams with a double-double of 10 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. Cornell had three others score in double figures with Harris netting 13, Kathryn Schilling 12 and Marie-Lidd 10. Schilling also collected six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Cornell owned a 41-30 edge on the boards, although were pressured into 21 turnovers. Aimee Reyzer and Heather Taylor led the Spartans with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Postseason history - The Rams return to the postseason for the first time since 2006, Coach Brase's first season at the helm. Cornell is 1-4 overall in four previous IIAC Tournament appearances. The Rams reached the semifinals in 2000.

Dubuque, which won 10 of its final 12 regular-season contests, is back in the tournament for the eighth time and third year in a row. The Spartan have advanced to the semifinals twice.

IIAC leaders - Mulloy finished the regular-season as the IIAC scoring leader at 16.1 points per game. She ranks third in 3-pointers made (2.05 pg), fifth in free throw percentage (79.6) and fifth in steals (2.05 spg).

Schilling tops the conference with 2.65 steals per game. Dicus (7.8 rpg) and Marie-Lidd (7.6 rpg) are third and fifth, respectively, in rebounding.