Cornell women’s basketball rallied late to force overtime but was defeated by Penn, 72-66, on Friday night at Newman Arena.
Rachel Kaus led the Big Red (8-14, 3-6 Ivy) with a career-high 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting while adding a team-high nine rebounds. Emily Pape contributed 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Clarke Jackson added 12 points. Kelsey Langston recorded eight assists as Cornell shot 25-of-64 from the field, including 8-of-23 from three-point range. Penn (14-8, 4-5 Ivy) was led by Mataya Gayle’s 23 points, while Katie Collins added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Cornell opened the game strong, taking a 15-12 lead after the first quarter and carrying a 33-31 deficit into halftime following a back-and-forth second period. The Big Red surged early in the third quarter with a 13-5 run to move ahead 44-38, but Penn answered with a stretch of efficient shooting to regain the advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Trailing by seven early in the final period, Cornell mounted a comeback behind Kaus, who scored 11 fourth-quarter points. Her pair of late layups tied the game at 62, sending the contest to overtime after Cornell’s final regulation shot missed.
Kaus gave Cornell a brief lead early in the extra session, but Penn shot 4-of-6 from the field in overtime to secure the victory.
Cornell returns to action Saturday, February 14, hosting Princeton at 5 p.m. inside Newman Arena.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
