Athletics - Women's Basketball

Ram review – Cornell concluded the 2007-08 season with a pair of Iowa Conference losses last week. The Rams fell 70-53 at home to Loras on Feb. 20 and were dealt an 83-53 loss at No. 11 Simpson on Feb. 23.

The Rams finished the campaign at 8-17 overall and placed eighth in the IIAC with a 3-13 mark for the second consecutive season. The eight wins are the most in a season since the Rams won 12 games in 2002-03.

Cornell did not have a senior on its roster. The Rams’ top nine players consisted of four juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen. Cornell head coach Brent Brase is encouraged with the team’s foundation and future.

“I really thought we took a step forward as a program,” said Brase, who completed his third season at the helm. “We established a strong core group within the program which has some skill, but more importantly are passionate basketball players and are going to move our program forward in a number of ways. They are going to work to improve their individual skills and are the type of players and people who are going to do a good job attracting high-end players who can make an impact in our program.”

Cornell dropped nine of its last 10 games, although five of those came with three-year starter Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) sidelined because of an injury.

“The injury to Tiffany (Cowan) really hurt because I felt we were playing very well with her and had a great chance of being a playoff team and winning three or four more conference games down the stretch,” Brase said. “It also shows how we need to continue to add talent and depth to the team because one injury cannot have that much of an impact on our program in the future.”

No. 11 Simpson 83, Cornell 53 (Feb. 23, at Indianola)
Conference regular-season champion Simpson proved to be too much for the Rams on the road, racing to a 41-22 halftime lead en route to its 23 rd win of the season.

The Storm connected on 10-of-13 shots from 3-point range and held the Rams to 28.6 percent shooting in the game. Simpson owned a 47-36 edge on the boards and had a 38-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Freshman Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) led Cornell with 10 points and nine rebounds. Cowan, Stephanie Gillespie (Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission South) and Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) each chipped in nine points.

Loras 70, Cornell 53 (Feb. 20, at Mount Vernon)
Cornell played the Duhawks to a 31-28 game at halftime before losing momentum in the second half of their home finale. Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) pulled Cornell to within 56-50 with five minutes remaining before Loras closed out the game with a 14-3 spurt.

Cornell freshman Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./Warren Township) poured in a game-high 22 points. Paczosa notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. West added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Rams set free throw mark – Cornell set the school record for free throw percentage in a season, hitting 271-of-368 attempts for a 73.6 clip. The Rams broke the previous mark of 71.7 percent, set in 2000-01.

Rams in the rankings – Duplessis finished sixth in the league – and first among freshmen – in scoring at 13.8 points per game. She posted the highest scoring average by a Ram since Lisa Fry (14.1 ppg) in 2001-02. Duplessis netted five 20-point games and reached double figures in 18 of 25 contests this season.

Paczosa ranks third in the league in offensive rebounds per game (2.72). Cowan is fourth in steals (2.0 spg).

Cowan cans 90th trey – Cowan moved into second place on Cornell’s career list for made 3-point goals with 90. She passed Lenora Sundstrom (89 3-point goals, 1999-2001) and is 11 shy of the all-time mark held by Bindy Comito (1999-2002). Cowan also ranks third in career steals (145), third in career rebounds (541) and seventh in career points (800).