MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's women's basketball team knows it's never too late to go dancing.
 
On the final day of the regular season – for the second straight year – the Rams claimed the fourth and final spot into the Midwest Conference Tournament with Saturday's decisive 63-42 victory over Grinnell in a winner-take-all Senior Day matchup at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
Erin Knowles and Kallynn Stroup combined for 39 points and the Rams pulled away with a 21-8 fourth-quarter surge to qualify for next week's four-team tournament.
 
No. 4 seed Cornell (15-9 overall, 9-7 MWC) will face No. 1 seed and 20th-ranked Ripon (23-2 overall, 16-0 MWC) in a semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday in Ripon, Wis. No. 2 Lawrence meets No. 3 Knox in Friday's second semifinal at 7 p.m.
 
Knowles netted 10 of her game-high 22 points in the opening stanza as the Rams raced to a 17-4 lead. The sophomore sank 10-of-13 free throws for the game and also collected nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
 
The Pioneers (10-14 overall, 7-9 MWC), who beat Cornell by 12 points in December, trimmed the margin to 34-32 with 4:04 left in the third quarter. Stroup and Kiley Edris then connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and Stroup added another bucket that put the Rams ahead 42-34 entering the final period.
 
Stroup scored 16 of her 17 points during a massive second half, which included 12 in the third quarter. The freshman finished 7-of-9 shooting from the field with four steals.
 
A Knowles 3-pointer capped a 12-0 Cornell run that extended the lead to 49-34 with 8:08 left in regulation.  
 
Cornell seniors Heidi Jorgensen and Rylee VanDresar were honored on the court before playing their final collegiate home games. Jorgensen finished with seven points and climbed to sixth place on Cornell's career 3-point list with 125 made.
 
The Rams held Grinnell to 23.1-percent shooting on the day and came away with 12 steals.