Game #27: Cornell at Princeton
Tip Off: Friday, March 7, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Jadwin Gym (Princeton, N.J.)
Records: Cornell (14-12; 6-6 Ivy); Princeton (18-7, 9-2)
Series Record: Princeton leads, 47-20
Last Meeting: Princeton won 71-56 (Feb. 8, 2014)
Live Stats: www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

Game #28: Cornell at Penn
Tip Off: Saturday, March 8, 2014; 8:00 p.m.
Location: The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Records: Cornell (14-12; 6-6 Ivy); Penn (19-6, 9-2)
Series Record: Penn leads, 51-19
Last Meeting: Penn won 67-57 (Feb. 7, 2014)
Live Stats: www.PennAthletics.com
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team (14-12, 6-6 Ivy) plays its final games of the season when it travels to Princeton (18-7, 9-2) and Penn (19-6, 9-2) on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, respectively. Both the Tigers and Quakers sit atop the Ivy League standings, while Cornell sits in a tie with Yale for fourth place.

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON: The Tigers hold a 47-20 edge in the series with the Big Red, but since the 2000-01 season the competition has been much closer, with Princeton going 17-10 during that time. The series began in 1974-75 with a 51-33 Princeton victory, but the teams wouldn't meet again until the 1979-80 season. The schools have met every year since 1979-80, and the Tigers have won the last 11 outings. Coach Dayna Smith is 7-17 vs. Princeton.

LAST TIME VS. THE TIGERS: Allyson DiMagno posted her second consecutive double-double to move into seventh place all-time in Cornell history with 1,208 career points, but it wasn't enough as the Big Red fell to Princeton, 71-56 at Newman Arena. With her performance, DiMagno became the first player in Cornell women's basketball history to reach 1,200 points and 800 rebounds in a career. In addition to DiMagno's team-high 14 points and season-high 15 rebounds, freshman forward Nicholle Aston registered a career-high 12 points. DiMagno also added three assists, three steals and one blocked shot to fill out her stat line. Shelby Lyman was the only other Big Red player in double figures with 10 points, while Stephanie Long registered a career-high seven assists. Princeton was led by Blake Dietrick, who registered 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Michelle Miller, who posted an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double. Taylor Williams also finished with 12 points. The Tigers shot a blistering 52 percent for the game (29-56), and outscored the Big Red in the paint, 44-20, but was held to just 29 percent from 3-point range (2-7). Cornell struggled from the floor, shooting just 34 percent overall (20-59) and 23 percent from beyond the arc (3-13). Princeton outrebounded the Big Red, 42-29, thanks to a 23-11 advantage in the first half. It was the Tigers' rebounding dominance and impressive transition offense in the first half that helped the visitors to jump out to a 38-26 lead at the break.

THE SERIES VS. PENN: Cornell's rivalry with Penn began during the 1974-75 season and the two teams have met every year since, excluding the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons. The Quakers hold the all-time series record, 51-19, but the Big Red has won 10 of the last 17 meetings. Coach Smith, who served as an assistant coach for Penn from 1999-2002, holds a 10-13 record vs. her old squad.

LAST TIME VS. THE QUAKERS: The Big Red took a 36-35 lead into halftime, but went cold from the floor to begin the second half and saw Penn use a 19-2 run to take command of the game in Newman Arena. Cornell battled back in the final moments of the contest, but the Quakers escaped with the 67-57 victory. The Big Red was led by the forward tandem of Nia Marshall and Allyson DiMagno, who each registered a double-double. Marshall led Cornell in scoring with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with three assists and one steal, while DiMagno registered 12 points and a team- and season-high 13 rebounds to go along with three assists, three blocked shots and one steal. Shelby Lyman was the only other Big Red in double-figures with 11 points. Cornell was on fire in the first half, shooting 50 percent overall (12-24) and a blistering 83 percent from beyond the arc (5-6), but hit just 1-of-11 shots during the decisive Penn run to finish at 36 percent for the game (19-53) and 41 percent from 3-point range (7-17). Alyssa Baron posted a game-high 28 points and a team-high nine rebounds. She went 9-of-18 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Sydney Stipanovich chipped in 14 points and blocked four shots, while Meghan McCullough finished with nine points. After shooting just 33 percent overall (10-30) in the first half, Penn found its touch in the second half to finish the game at 40 percent overall (22-55) and an impressive 50 percent from beyond the arc (6-12). Despite a significant height disadvantage, the Big Red held a gigantic edge on the boards (42-31), but posted more than 20 turnovers (21) for just the fifth time all season, leading to 18 points for the Quakers. The game featured nine lead changes and six ties in the opening half of play but after Penn's run to start the second half the Big Red would not manage to get back within single digits the rest of the way.

SEASON NOTES:
• Heading into the weekend with a 14-12 mark overall, Cornell is guaranteed to finish with a .500 record for the first time since going 20-9 in 2007-08.
• The Big Red heads into the weekend tied with Yale for fourth place in the Ivy League with a mark of 6-6. If Cornell remains in fourth place it will be the best finish since taking fourth in the conference in 2008-09.
• If the Big Red slips to fifth place in the Ivy standings, it will be the team's third straight fifth-place finish.

ELITE COMPANY: With her 20 points vs. Dartmouth on March 1, Allyson DiMagno became just the 10th Ivy League women's basketball player, and first-ever at Cornell, to register at least 1,300 points and 900 rebounds.

THE ONE AND ONLY: With her 14 points vs. Princeton on Feb. 8, senior Allyson DiMagno became the only player in Cornell history to register at least 1,200 points and 800 rebounds for her career.

MOVING ON UP: Allyson DiMagno currently ranks fourth overall in Cornell history for career points (1,302) and needs 25 more to move into third place overall, surpassing Do Stevens (1998-2002).

TOP REBOUNDER: Allyson DiMagno currently ranks second overall in Cornell history for career rebounds (920) and needs 12 more to surpass Patti Froehlich (1985-89) and become the Big Red's all-time leader … She already holds the school record for career defensive rebounds (578), career offensive rebounds (342), and rebounds in a single season (321 in 2012-13).

NCAA LEADER: Allyson DiMagno is among the NCAA's active career leaders in Division I for free throw percentage (18th – 83.5 percent) and rebounds (23rd – 920).

RULE FOLLOWERS: The Big Red ranks second in the Ivy League and 24th in the nation in fouls per game (16.0).

I'LL TAKE THAT:
• Cornell has posted 233 steals (9.0 per game) so far this season, which is up from last year when the Big Red registered 8.1 steals per game.
• Cornell entered the week ranked first in the Ivy League and 79th in the nation for steals per game.
• Cornell ranks second in the Ivy League and 63rd in the nation in turnover margin (+2.54).
• The Big Red's 18 steals vs. Seattle were the most since the 2001-02 season, and the most ever during head coach Dayna Smith's time at the helm of the program.
• In Cornell's next game vs. Binghamton, the team finished with 16 steals, good for second overall during Coach Smith's tenure.

FREE THROW FIEND: Allyson DiMagno (.848) ranks first in the Ivy League and 46th in the nation in free throw percentage.

13TH TO 1,000: On Nov. 26 vs. Loyola (MD), senior Allyson DiMagno became the 13th player in Cornell history, and fourth under head coach Dayna Smith, to join the 1,000-point club.

FRESHMAN [FOUR]CE: With two starters and two others contributing significant minutes, four members of the freshman class – Kerri Moran, Nia Marshall, Nicholle Aston and Megan LeDuc – are already putting their stamp on the 2013-14 season. All four average more than 11 minutes per game and as a group, they are shooting 43 percent (240-of-564) from the floor. The quartet is also contributing an average of 24.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

IVY LEADERS: Several Big Red players are ranked among the top 10 in various categories in the Ivy League, including:
*Allyson DiMagno – sixth in scoring (13.9 points per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in scoring (12.8 points per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – second in rebounding (8.7 rebounds per game)
*Nia Marshall – third in field goal percentage (.516)
*Allyson DiMagno – fifth in field goal percentage (.506)
*Kerri Moran – second in assists per game (3.5)
*Stephanie Long – eighth in assist per game (2.6)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in free throw percentage (.848)
*Nia Marshall – third in steals (1.8 steals per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in steals (1.8 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – seventh in steals (1.5 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.360)
*Shelby Lyman – sixth in 3-point field goals made (1.6 per game)
*Nia Marshall – fourth in blocked shots (1.1 blocks per game)
*Kerri Moran – fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.3)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in offensive rebounds (3.3 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in defensive rebounds (5.4 per game)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in defensive rebounds (3.9 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in minutes played (33.3 per game)

MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 404-of-582 baskets (69.4 percent). That is well above last season, as Cornell assisted on 66 percent of its baskets (378-of-573).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES
• Cornell has had three different players named Ivy League Player of the Week so far this year – Joelle Davidson Allyson DiMagno, and Nia Marshall. It is just the second time in the history of Cornell women's basketball that three different players were named Ivy League Player of the Week in the same season, matching Karen Force, Breean Walas and Do Stevens during the 2001-02 season.
• For the first time in the history of the Cornell women's basketball program a freshman was named the Ivy League Player of the Week when Nia Marshall earned both Player and Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 3.
• After having the best game of her career, senior Joelle Davidson was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Jan. 27, becoming the first Big Red women's basketball player other than Allyson DiMagno to win the award since Lauren Benson on Feb. 2, 2009.
• After setting the Cornell school record with four Ivy League Player of the Week selections a year ago, Allyson DiMagno has earned the award twice this season, moving to 12th all-time on the Ivy League's record list.

EVERYBODY'S (ACADEMIC) ALL-AMERICAN: Allyson DiMagno was named a 2013-14 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team selection, earning the honor for the third straight year. A biological sciences major with a 3.7 grade-point average, she is just the second Academic All-District selection in the history of the Big Red women's basketball program, joining Virginia McMunigal '10, who was a second-team selection during her senior season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK NOTES
• In total, Nia Marshall has been named Rookie of the Week five times (Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 3, Feb. 10) becoming the first Big Red player to earn five Rookie of the Week selections since Jeomi Maduka was chosen seven times during the 2005-06 season.
• Nia Marshall was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, becoming the first Cornell women's basketball player to receive back-to-back Rookie of the Weeks awards since Jeomi Maduka in 2005-06.
• Nia Marshall is the first Cornell player to receive two Rookie of the Week awards in a single season since Lauren Benson in 2006-07.

STARTING STREAK: Senior Allyson DiMagno has a 105-game starting streak, which is by far the longest active streak on the team, with two others – Stephanie Long, Shelby Lyman – tied for second at 26 games apiece. Both Long and Lyman had a starting streak ended in the final game last season.

100 THREES: With its six 3-pointers at Brown on Feb. 22, the Big Red reached the 100 3-pointers mark for the seventh consecutive season. … Cornell has registered at least 100 3-pointers in all but one season under head coach Dayna Smith, with the 2006-07 squad coming up just short with 98 treys.

CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 38-of-110 games (35 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 20-19 record (.513).

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell held 27 of its 54 opponents (50 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor.

WINNING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: The Big Red finished the non-conference portion of its season with an 8-6 record for the second straight year, giving Cornell a winning non-conference record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999-2000/2000-01. It is just the third time in program history that the Big Red has had back-to-back winning non-conference records (1982-83/1983-84).

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: With its 80-70 victory over Brown on Jan. 31 and its 81-46 victory over Vermont on Jan. 4, the Big Red has registered a pair of 80-point games for the first time since the 2009-10 season, when it racked up 81 points vs. Ithaca College on Nov. 15, 2009 and 92 points vs. Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 21, 2009.

100 WINS AND COUNTING: Head Coach Dayna Smith is already the winningest coach in Cornell history, and she reached the 100-win mark for her career with the team's victory over Manhattan on Nov. 20, 2012. She has since added to that and has 124 career coaching wins.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Seattle University Delta Dental Thanksgiving Tournament served as a homecoming for senior guard Shelby Lyman, who hails from Snohomish, which sits approximately 45 miles from the Redhawk's campus.

FIRST NIGHT: Four members of the freshmen class saw action in the team's season-opening victory over Colgate. Kerri Moran and Nia Marshall earned the start, while both Megan LeDuc and Nicholle Aston saw significant action off the bench. The quartet played a total of 75 minutes and contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals, five blocks, and three assists. They also hit 53 percent of their shots from the field, 67 percent from beyond the arc and 75 percent from the free throw line ... The final member of the freshman class, Taylor DePalma, saw her first collegiate action a week later at Syracuse.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Senior Aspen Chandler comes from a long line of athletes. Her father, Brian Hopgood, had a successful professional basketball career playing in the various domestic and overseas leagues. Collegiately, he played at University of Louisville and Oklahoma City University. While at OCU, he led his team to the NAIA national championship and was a two-time All-American. Her cousin Shelton Johnson played football for the University of Wisconsin and her grandfather Wayne Long ran track and field in college.

BASKETBALL PEDIGREE: Stephanie Long isn't the only member of her family to play collegiate basketball. Her father Dennis played basketball for three seasons at UConn.

PRESEASON HONORS: Allyson DiMagno was named a College Sports Madness Preseason All-Ivy second-team selection.

HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has a new face on the bench for the 2013-14 season – volunteer assistant Jim Sheehan – who spent the past two seasons serving as a volunteer assistant to Cornell's video coordinator. Sheehan is a 2010 graduate of Cortland with a bachelor of science degree in sports management.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red has added five players to this year's squad, as Nicholle Aston (Woodland Hills, Calif.), Taylor DePalma (Ithaca, N.Y.), Megan LeDuc(Vienna, Va.), Nia Marshall (Macedonia, Ohio) and Kerri Moran (Fair Hills, N.J.) have joined the team for the 2013-14 season. The class of five comes from five different states and consists of three guards and two forwards.

2012-13 SEASON RECAP: The 2012-13 season was one of steady improvement and individual accomplishments as a four-member senior class and a talented junior made their way up the Big Red record books. Led by Allyson DiMagno, who earned second-team All-Ivy honors following the season, the team posted a 13-15 record overall and a mark of 5-9 in the Ivy League to finish fifth overall in the conference standings.

UP NEXT: This weekend concludes the 2013-14 season for the Big Red.