Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Coe (11-5, 4-3), Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 28, at Beloit, Beloit, Wis., 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Central (4-13, 2-6), Pella, 6 p.m.

Ram Review – The Cornell women’s basketball team worked overtime to post its first two Iowa Conference wins of the season and junior forward Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) racked up 66 points during a strong stretch of three games in six days.

The Rams (7-8 overall, 2-5 IIAC) opened the week with a 74-71 overtime triumph over Wartburg Jan. 16 in Mount Vernon, marking the program’s first win over the Knights in nearly eight years. Cornell dropped a 70-63 decision on the road to Buena Vista Jan. 19, but then responded at home with a 78-70 overtime win over Dubuque Jan. 21.

Cornell improved to 3-0 in overtime contests and is just one victory shy of matching last year’s win total with nine regular-season games remaining.

“As a program we have taken important strides in the last couple months,” Cornell head coach Brent Brase said. “Not only are we starting to get a collection of skilled players, but more importantly they all have great attitudes and work ethic. They are all working in the same direction.”

Cornell 78, Dubuque 70 OT (Jan. 21, at Mount Vernon)
Sophomore guard Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) converted a layup with seven seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and the Rams hit 8-of-11 free throws in the extra five-minute session to pull away from the Spartans.

Cowan scored five of her game-high 24 points in overtime, including a key 3-pointer that gave the Rams a 73-69 lead with 1:54 left in overtime. Milas extended the margin with two free throws and Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./ Warren Township) added three free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

Cowan snared 13 rebounds to complete her 10th career double-double and second in three games. She shot 9-of-15 from the field and knocked down four 3-point goals. Duplessis finished with 16 points behind 8-of-10 shooting from the foul line. Milas chipped in 14 points and six rebounds.

“Tiff played another good all-around game,” Brase said. “I think the most important thing to recognize about Tiff’s game is that she is making a better attempt to try and guard. She is staying more disciplined with more effort.”

The Rams hurried Dubuque into 21 turnovers and held the Spartans without a field goal during a 12-minute stretch that spanned both halves. Cornell outscored the Spartans in the paint, 32-16, in a game that had 10 ties and seven lead changes.

Buena Vista 70, Cornell 63 (Jan. 19, at Storm Lake)
Cornell battled another league foe down to the wire, but gave up a late spurt in a road loss to the Beavers.

The Rams led by four points with less than five minutes to play and tied the score at 63-63 on a jumper by Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) with 1:43 remaining before Buena Vista reeled off seven unanswered points to end the game.

“We had a real good chance to come away with a great road victory,” Brase said. “We need to keep working offensively and defensively to make the plays down the stretch to get these games next time.”

Cowan led four Rams in double figures scoring with a game-high 18 points. West finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Duplessis and Milas chipped in 10 points apiece. Kristin Paczosa grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Rams were held to 35.4 percent shooting. The Beavers shot 43.3 percent from the floor, including 53.8 in the second half. Cornell trailed 29-26 at halftime.

Cornell 74, Wartburg 71 OT (Jan. 16, at Mount Vernon)
Cowan and Duplessis combined to score 45 points, including all nine of the team’s points in overtime, to propel the Rams to their first league win of the season and a rare victory over Wartburg. Cornell had lost 16 consecutive games against the Knights, with the Rams’ last win in the series coming on Feb. 5, 2000 in Waverly.

“As we have displayed the past two months, I felt the team played inspired, tough basketball,” Brase said.

Cowan led all scorers with 24 points behind 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range. She pulled down 10 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season. Cowan also had four of the Rams’ 14 steals.

Duplessis tossed in 21 points – seven coming in the extra period – to go along with five rebounds and three assists. West and Milas chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.

Wartburg hit a bucket with 19 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 65-65 and force overtime. The Knights held a 71-70 lead with 1:19 remaining in overtime. Duplessis answered with a jumper in the paint to put the Rams ahead 72-71 and then nailed a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to provide the final margin.

The Rams scored 36 points off of 25 Wartburg turnovers. The Knights held a 49-33 edge on the boards in a game that featured 15 lead changes and nine ties.

Cowan joins elite group – Cowan became the third women’s basketball player in school history to reach 700 points and 500 rebounds in a career, currently with 757 points and 510 rebounds. Lisa Fry (1,131 points and 647 rebounds, 1998-2002) and Joyce Weeg (935 points and 927 rebounds, 1979-1983) are the only other Rams to accomplish the feat.

Rams in the rankings – West ranks third in the IIAC in 3-point percentage (47.6) and fourth in free throw percentage (83.3). Cowan is fourth in offensive rebounds (2.5 pg) and fifth in total rebounds (7.3 rpg). Wallace stands fifth in steals (2.1 spg).