MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's women's basketball team ran out of steam late against the Midwest Conference's No. 1 scoring defense in Saturday's 56-39 loss to second-place Lawrence inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The Rams (13-7 overall, 7-5 MWC) were pressured into 27 turnovers and outscored 28-10 over the final 11 minutes by the Vikings (16-5 overall, 9-3 MWC).
 
Cornell dropped into a tie with Grinnell for fourth place in the MWC race with four games remaining.    
 
Saturday's defensive battle saw the Rams take a 29-28 lead on an Erin Knowles bucket with 4:23 left in the third quarter. The Vikings surged back ahead with a 7-0 run to finish the period and then broke away with a 14-1 spurt in the fourth.
 
Knowles led all scorers with 16 points, marking her 45th consecutive game in double figures. The sophomore also had five rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Freshman Darby Haley came off the bench for 12 points. She made the team's only three 3-point goals of the contest. Maggie Thompson added a team-best eight rebounds in a reserve role.
 
Lawrence came away with 17 steals and scored 29 points off Cornell turnovers. The Rams were limited to 29.8-percent shooting for the day.
 
Coming up – The Rams travel to play No. 19 nationally-ranked Ripon (20-2 overall, 13-0 MWC) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Ripon, Wis.