Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coming up — Wednesday, Jan. 9, Simpson, Small Multi-Sport Center, 6 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 12, at Loras, Dubuque, 2 p.m.

Cornell (5-5 overall, 0-2 Iowa Conference) enters a challenging week with league games against title contenders Simpson and Loras. Simpson (11-1, 3-0) is ranked eighth in the USA Today/ESPN Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll and hasn’t lost to the Rams since the 2001-02 season, a span of 10 games. Loras (10-1, 2-1) started the season 10-0 and has won six of the last seven meetings with Cornell.

“Simpson is ranked very high in the national polls and we are looking forward to the challenge of playing them. They are very long, athletic and skilled and press for 40 minutes,” Cornell head coach Brent Brase said. “Loras is also a very good team. They are very balanced and have one of the best players in the conference in (Natalie) Pucci.”

Ram review – Cornell had its four-game winning streak end against the hot-shooting Central Dutch, falling 81-65 on Jan. 5 in the Small Multi-Sport Center in Mount Vernon.

Central (3-9, 1-2) blistered the nets with 52.8 percent shooting, including 10-of-19 from 3-point range and 15-of-17 from the foul line. The Rams shot 38.8 percent from the field and hit only 4-of-19 3-point goals.

“The difference in the game was 3-point shooting,” Brase said. “I felt Central was the more aggressive team for most of the game. Once they hit a few shots, they gained momentum and we were not able to change momentum at any point. It was the first time this year we have played against a zone for any extended period of time and we didn’t attack it very well.”

Freshman guard Melanie Duplessis (Lindenhurst, Ill./Warren Township) led four Rams in double-figures scoring with a career-high 20 points behind 8-of-15 shooting. Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) had a solid game with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Alicia West (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) chipped in 11 points and Brianna Wallace (Eldridge/North Scott) added 10.

The Rams trimmed a 36-29 halftime deficit to 36-34 with 18 minutes left in regulation. Central answered with a 12-2 spurt and was never threatened the rest of the way.

The 81 points are the most the Rams have allowed in a game since an 85-48 loss at No. 2 UW-Whitewater Nov. 25, 2007. Cornell had limited opponents to 45 points per game during its four-game winning streak.

Rams in the rankings – Wallace ranks second in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.88), sixth in steals (2.20 spg) and eighth in assists (3.0 apg). West is second in 3-point percentage (58.6), hitting 17-of-29 shots from long range. Kristin Paczosa ( Arlington Heights, Ill./ Buffalo Grove) stands sixth in rebounds (6.9 rpg) and Duplessis seventh in field goal percentage (51.0).