Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Friday, Dec. 7, Mount Mary, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 8, Silver Lake, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 1 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Beloit, Beloit, Wis., 7 p.m.

Ram review – Cornell (1-4) went 1-2 in three games decided by five points or less, highlighted with a 76-71 home victory over Elmhurst Nov. 30. The Rams dropped a 61-56 decision at Iowa Conference foe Luther Nov. 28 and fell on the short end of a 60-56 battle with Mount Mercy Dec. 3.

“I thought we made strides from Luther to Elmhurst and Elmhurst to Mount Mercy,” head coach Brent Brase said. “Our shooting will come and go, but the things I’m looking for are continued defensive and rebounding improvements. Our team is making progress in both areas.”

Mount Mercy 60, Cornell 56 (Dec. 3, Mount Vernon)
Cornell sophomore Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./ Buffalo Grove) notched her first career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, but the Rams’ late comeback fell short against the Mustangs. The 5-foot-11 forward came off the bench and grabbed 12 defensive rebounds and shot 4-of-6 from the field in 27 minutes. Paczosa set career highs for both points and rebounds.

The Rams battled back from a 54-43 deficit with less than four minutes to play and pulled to within 58-56 on a Paczosa jumper with 11 seconds remaining. Mount Mercy then put the game away with a pair of free throws from Kelli Dabroski, who finished 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs connected on 19-of-21 foul shots, including six straight in the final 36 seconds. The Rams went 8-of-10 from the foul line.

“I thought the area that hurt us were some untimely fouls on our part, an area we need to improve upon,” Brase said. “Our defense was better and we outrebounded an opponent (40-34).”

Cornell limited Mount Mercy to 31.5 percent shooting. The Rams struggled from the perimeter, going 2-of-21 from 3-point range.

Freshman Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./ Warren Township) led four Rams in double-figures scoring with 15 points to go along with a team-high four assists. Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./ Rolling Meadows) had 11 points and Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Cornell 76, Elmhurst 71 (Nov. 30, Mount Vernon)
Sisters Denise and Melanie Duplessis combined for seven points in Cornell’s 10-2 run to end the game as the Rams notched their first win of the season.

The Rams appeared to be in control with a 56-43 lead and less than 12 minutes to play, but needed a late rally to finish off the guests. Trailing 69-66 with 2:26 remaining, Denise Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./ Warren Township) converted a layup and Cowan blocked a shot and then nailed a 3-pointer to put the Rams ahead 71-69. After Elmhurst tied it at 71-71, Cornell cashed in five free throws – three from Melanie Duplessis and two by Denise Duplessis – in the final 39 seconds to secure the win.

Freshman forward Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./ Plymouth) netted a season-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead the Rams. Melanie Duplessis finished with 15 points and five assists. Cowan tallied 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Paczosa provided a lift off the bench with 10 points and five boards.

The Rams connected on 18-of-23 free throws (81.8 percent) and scored 25 points off 24 Elmhurst turnovers. Elmhurst held a 37-29 edge on the boards.

Luther 61, Cornell 56 (Nov. 28, Decorah)
The Rams put up a fight against defending IIAC champion Luther, ranked ninth in the preseason WBCA Division III Poll, in the league opener for both teams Nov. 28 in Decorah.

Cornell trimmed an 18-point second-half deficit to 58-54 with 2:02 left in regulation. The Rams scored 35 points off 36 Norse turnovers and outscored Luther 39-28 in the second half. The difference in the outcome was in the paint, where Luther held a 50-27 edge in rebounds.

Melanie Duplessis and Cowan paced the Rams with 12 and 10 points, respectively. West grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Fine freshman – Melanie Duplessis is off to a strong start to her collegiate career, leading the Rams in scoring (13.6 ppg), assists (3.2 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) while shooting 51.0 percent from the field The 5-6 guard has scored in double figures in all five games this season.

Take it away – The Rams rank No. 1 in the IIAC with a plus-4.8 turnover margin. Cornell opponents are averaging 24.6 turnovers per game.