MONMOUTH, Ill. – Erin Knowles tossed in a season-high 26 points as Cornell's women's basketball team kept its Midwest Conference postseason hopes alive with a decisive 68-49 victory over Monmouth Wednesday night in Glennie Gym.
 
That sets up a showdown between the Rams (13-10 overall, 9-6 MWC) and Knox (15-9 overall, 10-5 MWC) in Saturday's regular-season finale at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon. Both teams will battle for the fourth and final spot into the MWC Tournament.
 
Cornell needs a win Saturday to have a chance in a tiebreaker scenario, which would be determined by Saturday's other results. Knox, which already owns a head-to-head win over Cornell, can clinch a berth with a victory.
 
Knowles enjoyed the most efficient offensive game of her bright young career, draining 8-of-11 field goals and going 9-of-10 from the foul line. The freshman forward surged into second place on Cornell's single-season scoring list with 434 points, only two shy of the record held by Sherri Pettit (1987-88).
 
Knowles, who leads the MWC in scoring (18.9 ppg), also collected seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Rams, who claimed their fifth consecutive series win against Monmouth (5-19 overall, 2-13 MWC).
 
Reagan Wells also continued her impressive freshman campaign with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Rams received nine points off the bench from Victoria Saucedo, who went 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
 
Cornell took control early, scoring 13 of the game's first 16 points in building a 21-7 advantage after one quarter. The Rams pushed the margin to 34-14 at halftime and led by as many as 24 points early in the third period.
 
The hot-shooting Rams connected on 10 3-point goals, while the Fighting Scots were held to 3-of-13 from long range.