RIPON, Wis. – Senior guard Kali March climbed to third place on Cornell's career 3-point chart in Saturday's 61-46 women's basketball loss to Midwest Conference unbeaten Ripon at Weiske Gymnasium.
 
The Rams (8-11 overall, 6-4 MWC) slipped into a three-way for second place in the league race with Grinnell and Knox, while first-place Ripon (13-6 overall) improved to 10-0 in the MWC with its seventh straight win.
 
March helped keep the Rams in it early, scoring 13 of her team-high 18 points in the opening half. She buried three 3-point goals, giving her an MWC-best 47 for the season. She increased her career 3-point total to 127, jumping Sierra Bisso (2013-17) for third-most in program history.
 
Cornell pressured the Red Hawks into 20 turnovers, highlighted by five steals from Rachael Adewusi who also had eight points. Ani'ja Simmons led the Rams with seven rebounds. Kenzie Nielsen provided five points off Cornell's bench.
 
The five-time defending MWC champion Red Hawks took advantage of their size, holding a 36-18 edge on the boards and outscoring the Rams in the paint, 42-14.
 
Bonnie Jensen and Ella Ten Pas tallied 22 and 20 points, respectively, to pace the Red Hawks.
 
Ripon led 30-19 at halftime and pulled away with an 18-9 third quarter.
 
Coming up – Cornell is home Wednesday to face in-state rival Grinnell (11-7 overall, 6-4 MWC) at 7:30 p.m. in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center. Grinnell won the first meeting, 72-65.