Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Monday, Dec. 31, at Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio, 2 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 5, Central, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 4 p.m.

Ram review – The Cornell women’s basketball team (4-4 overall, 0-1 Iowa Conference) notched its third consecutive win and Katie Green enjoyed an unexpected head coaching debut in a 73-59 nonconference triumph over Augustana Dec. 19 at Carver P.E. Center in Rock Island, Ill.

The Rams made the trip without head coach Brent Brase and assistant Rich Kroeze, both who stayed back because of illnesses. But Cornell’s players showed no ill-effects, racing to a 39-22 lead at halftime and coasting the rest of the way.

“We came out strong and executed what we needed to do,” said Green, the Rams’ top assistant who learned she would be leading the team two hours before hitting the road. “We played well for about 35 minutes. We did a lot of the things we’ve been working on in practice. Overall, our team defense was good. It was a good win going into (Christmas) break.”

Junior Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) led Cornell’s attack with 15 points and eight rebounds. Charlotte Milas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) netted 13 and 11 points, respectively. Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds despite playing only 16 minutes due to foul trouble.

The Rams held a 44-41 edge on the boards and pressured Augustana into 23 turnovers. Cornell led by as many as 20 points (42-22) early in the second half. Augustana trimmed the margin to 53-48 with seven minutes remaining before the Rams pulled away for good.

“We played well for about 35 minutes,” Green said. “After that little lull in the second half, we regained our composure and got back to the things we needed to do.”

Hot December – The Rams will shoot for their fifth win in six games when they visit Heidelberg (5-4 overall, 1-3 Ohio Athletic Conference) Dec. 31 in Tiffin, Ohio. With a win, the Rams would take a winning record into New Year’s Day for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign. Cornell was 5-5 through December last season.

Balance is best – Cornell has had a different player lead the team in scoring in its last five games. Freshman guard Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./Warren Township) averages a team-best 11.3 points per game, followed by West at 10.5.