APPLETON, Wis. — It took two-time defending Midwest Conference champion Cornell College the entire second half Saturday to put away a pesky Lawrence University women’s basketball team by the score of 64-50 in a league game at Alexander Gymnasium.
Cornell (8-7, 6-4 MWC) led by just four at the half, and the Vikings (0-13, 0-9) were within striking distance until the final two minutes of the game.
Rikki Mulloy scored 17 points to pace the Rams, and Taylor Dicus added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Elizabeth Arco scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and picked up two blocks and two steals to pace Lawrence. Fellow rookies Olivia Hoesley and Danelle Buck added 10 points apiece for the Vikings, and Kassidy Rinehart pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Lawrence trailed by as many as eight points in the first half before scoring three consecutive baskets to cut the advantage to 17-15. Cornell pushed the lead back to seven, but the Vikings scored seven straight, including five from Buck, to tie the game at 24-24.
Cornell led 30-26 at the half, and the Rams extended the lead to 11 early in the second half. Lawrence trimmed the lead back to six points before the Rams stretched it back to 13 at 56-43. Lawrence kept chipping away and was still as close as nine points with less than two minutes left but couldn’t get any closer.