Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Wartburg (11-9 overall, 4-8 Iowa Conference), Waverly, 6 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 16, Coe (16-6, 9-4), Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 2 p.m.

Ram review – Freshman forward Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) registered a pair of double-figure scoring games last week, but cold second-half shooting cost the Rams in a 59-39 loss at Dubuque Feb. 7 and a 65-55 setback at home to Buena Vista Feb. 9.

Cornell (8-13 overall, 3-9 IIAC) played both games without injured starter Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman), the team’s top rebounder (7.2 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.3 ppg). Cowan’s status is day-to-day.

“Tiffany, obviously, is important to our team so to compete without her was another important step for our program,” Cornell head coach Brent Brase said. “In our second game without Tiff (against Buena Vista), I thought we played with more confidence on the offensive end than we did against Dubuque. I was extremely proud of our effort during both games.”

Buena Vista 65, Cornell 55 (Feb. 9, at Mount Vernon)
The Rams carried a 27-21 lead into halftime, but couldn’t make it stand as Buena Vista rallied for 44 second-half points. The Beavers pulled away with a 16-3 spurt midway through the second period to open a 48-37 lead with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left to play.

Sophomore guard Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./ Rolling Meadows) paced the Rams with 15 points. West finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./ Warren Township) netted 10 points. Junior Heather Roberts (Chicago, Ill./Gwendolyn Brooks) had her best game of the season, totaling 12 rebounds and seven points coming off the bench.

The Rams attempted 24 more field goals than Buena Vista, although shot just 27.4 percent from the floor. Cornell outrebounded the guests, 43-39, and forced 21 turnovers. The difference was at the foul line where the Beavers made 18-of-20 free throws while Cornell went 8-of-9.

Dubuque 59, Cornell 39 (Feb. 7, at Dubuque)
The Rams endured their toughest shooting game of the season in a league setback on the road.

Cornell trailed 28-22 at halftime, but managed only three field goals in the second half as the Spartans pulled away. The Rams were held to a season-low 21.6 percent shooting (11-of-51) for the game, including 3-of-17 from 3-point range. Cornell did not make a field goal in the final 12 minutes, 50 seconds of the game.

“We played very well defensively, but didn’t shoot well enough to give ourselves a chance to win,” Brase said. “We had good looks, but didn’t knock them down and it just gained momentum in the wrong direction on the offensive end.”

West tossed in a game-high 16 points for the Rams. Milas contributed seven points and eight rebounds.

Sizzling from the stripe – The Rams have three players shooting over 80.0 percent from the foul line this season. Cowan leads the team at 89.7 percent (35-of-39), followed by West and Milas both at 83.3 (35-of-42). All three would rank in the top five in the conference in free throw percentage, but do not meet the minimum of two free throws made per game. The Rams are shooting 71.1 percent from the line as a team.

Rams in the rankings – Cowan ranks in the top five in the IIAC in three statistical categories, standing fourth in steals (2.1 spg), fifth in total rebounds (7.2 rpg) and fifth in offensive rebounds (2.4). West is fourth in 3-point percentage (39.7).