Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Beloit, Beloit, Wis., 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 19, at Augustana, Rock Island, Ill., 7:30 p.m.

Ram review – The Rams (3-4 overall, 0-1 Iowa Conference) overwhelmed a pair of Wisconsin foes and rewrote the school’s record book in back-to-back blowouts over Mount Mary (116-21) Dec. 7 and Silver Lake (88-35) Dec. 8 at the Small Multi-Sport Center in Mount Vernon. The Rams drained 29 3-point shots and allowed only 19 total field goals in the two games.

“Even though the competition wasn’t great, I thought the team really maintained good focus and tried to get better in a couple areas of emphasis,” head coach Brent Brase said. “The other positive was that everyone got to play a lot of minutes, a nice reward for those who work so hard in practice but don’t always receive a lot of playing time.

“Overall, I’ve been pleased with the progress of our team and our program. We need to continue to take steps forward in the next month before we continue with conference play so we can contend with the better teams in the Iowa Conference.”

Cornell 88, Silver Lake 35 (Dec. 8)
Sophomore guard Val Marean (Indianola/Indianola) hit 5-of-12 3-point goals and finished with a season-high 15 points in only 15 minutes in the Rams’ lopsided home win.

Junior Stephanie Gillespie (Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission South) netted 13 points, followed by Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) with 12 and Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./ Rolling Meadows) with 10. Freshman guard Meghan Gorski (Villa Park, Ill./St. Francis) led the Rams with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Rams raced to a 53-12 lead at halftime, scoring 34 of those points off 19 Silver Lake turnovers. Cornell shot 50.7 from the field and made 13-of-34 shots from beyond the arc. The Rams held a 41-28 advantage on the boards.

Cornell 116, Mount Mary 21 (Dec. 7)
The Rams set five school records and received double-doubles from Paczosa and Brianna Wallace (Eldridge/North Scott) against the undermanned Blue Angels. Cornell established single-game marks for points (116), margin of victory (95), 3-point goals made (16), assists (29) and field goal percentage (59.7). The 116 points are the most scored by an IIAC team this season.

Paczosa led the onslaught, scoring a career-high 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games. Wallace registered her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. She also collected five steals and did not commit a turnover.

Sophomore Jericha O’Steen (Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland Christian) hit 8-of-11 field goals and set a career high with 16 points. Gillespie finished with 14 points, Jen Swotek (Council Bluffs/Thomas Jefferson) 12 and Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./ Plymouth) 11. Gorski had a solid all-around game with seven points, seven assists and five steals.

Cornell shot a sizzling 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from 3-point range and outrebounded the guests, 52-26. The Rams built a commanding 69-7 lead at halftime and limited the Blue Angels to 15.6 shooting (7-of-45) for the game.

IIAC leaders – The Rams lead the league in scoring defense (57.6 ppg) and turnover margin (+ 8.71 tpg). Cornell ranks second in steals (12.43 spg), scoring margin (+ 14.9 ppg) and 3-point goals made (7.14 pg).

West ranks second in the IIAC in 3-point percentage (60.0, 12-of-20) and Gorski is second in assist/turnover ratio (3.0). Paczosa stands third in field goal percentage (54.0, 27-of-50) and Wallace is third in steals (2.57 spg).

3-point barrage – Cornell blistered the nets with 29-of-55 shooting (52.7 percent) from 3-point range in the two wins over the weekend. The Rams had 10 different players make a 3-pointer, led by Marean’s 8-of-17 effort. Cornell was shooting a modest 26.5 percent from long range through its first five games.