(Ithaca, N.Y.) – In what was its final non-conference matchup of the season, the Delaware State women's basketball team (3-10) outscored the Ivy League's Cornell Big Red (8-6), 24-18, in the final 10 minutes, but a 10-point first quarter hole turned out to be the difference for the Lady Hornets in Wednesday night's 71-62 road loss.

With this defeat, DSU fell for a third consecutive time on the road, in addition to dropping back-to-back games, whereas the Big Red rebounded from a two-point loss at Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foe Howard last week to secure their third win in the last four games.  

Cornell finished the evening with six treys, five of which came from guards Caroline Shelquiest and Megan LeDuc hitting a pair during the first quarter.  Coming into the game, the 3-point specialist tandem led the Big Red in treys made (36), respectively.  

Delaware State, meanwhile, was held to 31 percent (8-of-26) shooting in the opening half, highlighted by top scoring threats in sophomore Mikah Aldridge (12.3 ppg), senior Amber Bogard (11.2 ppg) and freshman standout NaJai Pollard (9.1 ppg) combining for a 5-of-15 (.333) effort from the field. 

Trailing 36-22 at the break, the Lady Hornets found themselves down by as many as 18 in the second half on two separate occasions.  However, DSU generated some momentum down the stretch with a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, capped off an Aldridge 3-pointer to make it a 62-54 ball game at the 3:20 mark.  Aldridge went on to hit another bucket from long distance, this time to cut Cornell's lead to seven with 1:40 left.  Nevertheless, the Big Red held off the Lady Hornets in the final minute to push their home record to 6-1.

At game's end, three players for the Big Red scored in double figures, led by guard Kerri Moran (4-of-8) and leading scorer Nia Marshall (5-of-12) pouring in 15 points.  Marshall's statline also included 10 boards, three steals and two blocks, while forward Nicholle Aston recorded a double-double with 10 points (3-of-8) and a team-high 12 rebounds.  

In the case of DSU, Aldridge rebounded from her slow start to record 14 of her game-high 16 points (4-of-11) in the second half, whereas Bogard finished with 15 points (7-of-10).  Pollard, who saw her streak of four consecutive games of scoring in double figures snapped with an eight-point effort, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, which tied a career-high.

Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will open up MEAC play this Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) on the road against Morgan State.  Last season, the two programs met only once, as DSU suffered a 64-56 home loss.   

Stingers

DSU shot 44 percent (14-of-32) in the second half to finish the night at 38 percent (22-of-58)… The Hornets outscored CU in points off the bench, thanks in large part to Cleveland, Ohio natives, Mikah Aldridge (16) and Amber Bogard (15)… The Lady Hornets lost the battle on the boards (41-34)… Cornell tallied 20 assists, compared to DSU's 13… Bogard extended her streak of totaling double figures in the scoring column to six… NaJai Pollard's 13-rebound performance was her fourth double digit rebounding game of the season… DSU is now 1-3 all-time against Cornell.