MOUNT VERNON – Sophomore Ilah Perez-Johnson registered her first collegiate double-double and Cornell controlled Lake Forest for the duration of Saturday's 68-55 Midwest Conference women's basketball win inside the Small Sport Center.
 
The Rams went 3-2 on their five-game homestand and jumped to 4-3 overall, 1-1 in the MWC.
 
Perez-Johnson made the most of her 19 minutes of court time, netting 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds, including seven offensive. Her impressive performance came in a reserve role for the Rams, who outscored Lake Forest (2-5 overall, 1-2 MWC) in bench points, 24-10.
 
The Rams had 11 players score in a contest which they led for all but 11 seconds. Madison Wauters and Madison Osborn had four points apiece that triggered a game-opening 8-0 run and the Rams never looked back.
 
Wauters finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Osborn added 10 points, Rachael Adewusi eight. Sophomore Kali March turned in a fine floor game with eight assists to only one turnover. She also collected a team-best four steals.
 
Cornell was tough on the defensive end, forcing 21 turnovers and holding the Foresters to 30.8-percent shooting. Lake Forest's Katie Neher, the top scorer in the MWC, was limited to 13 points, six below her season average.
 
The Rams built their largest lead at 60-41 on a jumper by Ani'ja Simmons with 6:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
Cornell carries momentum into Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. road game against in-state rival Grinnell.