MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's women's basketball team charged back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete a valiant comeback in Wednesday's 49-43 loss to rival Coe inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The Rams (5-5) had a four-game winning streak snapped, while Coe improved to 7-3 on the season.
 
The roller-coaster affair saw the Kohawks open a 14-5 lead after one quarter. The Rams countered with a 15-2 run in the second quarter and led 20-16 at halftime.
 
The Kohawks raced back ahead with a 20-6 spurt in the third quarter and built their largest lead at 43-26 with 7:31 left in regulation. Cornell mounted a furious rally and drew within 45-41 on a conventional 3-point play by Madison Wauters with 24 seconds remaining.
 
Coe knocked down its final four free throw attempts down the stretch and escaped with the win.
 
Wauters paced the Rams with 15 points and five rebounds. Madison Osborn pitched in 11 points and had three steals.
 
Junior guard Kali March, among the national leaders in steals, came away with six more swipes against the Kohawks, who were pressured into 22 turnovers.
 
The Kohawks owned a 42-25 advantage on the boards and limited Cornell to 29.6-percent shooting for the game, including 2-of-15 from 3-point range. Ani'ja Simmons grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Rams.  
 
Coming up – The Rams are home Friday to face UW-Stout (8-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.