Schilling paces Rams to win at Loras

The Cornell women's basketball team snapped a string of tight defeats with an impressive 75-61 Iowa Conference victory over Loras Saturday afternoon at the Athletics & Wellness Center in Dubuque.

The Rams relied on a balanced offensive attack that had four players score in double figures to post its first series win at Loras since Nov. 27, 2001 (80-78). Cornell rebounded from a 61-60 loss Wednesday night at Buena Vista, which marked the team's fourth consecutive setback by seven points or less.

The Loras win moved Cornell (5-7 overall) into a tie for fourth place in the IIAC standings at 3-2.

"We played our most complete game of the year at Loras," Cornell head coach Brent Brase said. "We defended fairly well and really played well offensively, not just because we hit shots but because our motion was very difficult to guard. We had great movement and great decision making, and the end result was a very balanced offensive output."

Junior guard Kathryn Schilling had a big all-around game at Loras (7-6, 2-2 IIAC), tossing in 16 points - two shy of her career best - to go with a career-high seven assists and four steals. She scored 14 of her points in the second half as the Rams extended a 31-26 halftime lead. Schilling hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished 6-of-6 from the foul line.

The Rams got 13 points apiece from freshman guard Rikki Mulloy and junior post Camille Marie-Lidd. Taylor Dicus chipped in 12 points and five boards. Cornell also had solid play from its bench, led by junior Leonie de Jonge's six points and team-high seven rebounds. Chelsea Harris contributed six points and India Pearce five. Mulloy dished out five assists.

Cornell took control in the second half, building the lead to 61-42 with 7:29 to go. The Rams shot 54.2 percent (13-of-24) in the final period and finished the game 20-of-24 from the free throw line. Cornell outrebounded the Duhawks, 37-28.

Cornell put the defensive clamps on Buena Vista (8-5, 3-1 IIAC) down the stretch, but came up a bucket short of completing a comeback in Storm Lake.

A 3-point goal put the Beavers ahead 61-53 with 4:02 remaining. But Cornell held the hosts scoreless the rest of the way and a personal 7-0 run by Mulloy gave the Rams a chance at the end.

Mulloy, who led all scorers with 19 points, drained a 3-pointer that put Cornell to within 61-60 at the one-minute mark. Buena Vista missed the front ends of two one-and-one trips to the foul line, the second carom Marie-Lidd grabbed with seven seconds to go. Mulloy dribbled down court and pulled up for a 3-pointer that was short as time expired.

"We gave ourselves a great chance to win on the road," Brase said. "We just didn't make the plays in the last minute that we needed to win."

Dicus recorded her first double-double as a Ram, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Marie-Lidd was also a force down low with nine points and a season-high 17 rebounds, including 10 boards on the offensive end. Dicus and Marie-Lidd helped Cornell own a 54-36 advantage in total rebounds. The Rams corralled 23 offensive rebounds to Loras' 10.

Schilling finished with 11 points and three steals. De Jonge added seven points and Harris grabbed six rebounds. Mulloy had three assists and three steals.

The Rams were down 38-32 at halftime and trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half. Cornell rallied back with a 14-0 spurt and took a 52-51 lead on a Schilling 3-pointer with 9:45 remaining. The Beavers were held to three made field goals in the final 13 minutes of regulation.

Career charts - Marie-Lidd climbed into sixth place on Cornell's career scoring list with 959 points, only 12 behind Dani Mortenson for fifth all-time. The 6-foot-2 center also moved into sixth place in career rebounds with 468.

Schilling jumped to fifth place on the program's career steals list with 129. She is seven steals behind LaRae Palo for fourth.

Rams in the rankings - Schilling tops all IIAC players in steals at 2.50 per game. She has 10 steals in her last three contests.

Marie-Lidd (13.8 ppg) and Mulloy (13.4 ppg) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the league in scoring. Marie-Lidd is third in rebounds (8.1 rpg) and leads the conference with 4.0 offensive boards per game. Dicus stands sixth in field goal percentage (49.3) and seventh in rebounds (6.8 rpg).

The Rams lead the IIAC in field goal percentage defense (35.0) and 3-point percentage defense (26.1). The team is second in rebound margin (+7.2) and free throw percentage (71.3).

Coming up - Following a mid-week bye, Cornell dives back into league play Saturday, Jan. 14 with a 2 p.m. home game against Luther (4-9, 1-3 IIAC). The teams split two games last season, with the Rams prevailing 61-54 at home.