Cornell University Athletics

Archived Statistics (1975-2020)
Statistical Records
Individual Player Honors
All-Time Letter Winners/Team Captains
Year-by-Year Results
Cornell vs. All Opponents

The women’s basketball team has been a varsity sport at Cornell since 1971, the year the NCAA recognized women’s athletics on the varsity level. However, there was interest in the sport at Cornell long before then, as women took part in class competitions in the 1920s and 1930s. In the contests, each class at the university competed against each other. To distinguish which team was which, they had their own color bloomers: red, green, blue and brown. As each senior class graduated, the incoming freshman class took over their colors. Those competitions later grew into sports day events, before turning varsity. As a varsity team, Cornell played mostly local competition before an Ivy League tournament was established in the 1978-79 season. Full round-robin play started in the Ancient Eight in the 1982-83 season.

The Big Red began play in Helen Newman Hall, later moved to Barton Hall, and in January of 1990, got a new beginning at Newman Arena. Cornell has experienced great success on its home court, posting an undefeated Ivy League home slate in 2007-08 (7-0).

The coaching staff has seen a few changes of its own since the start of the varsity program. Cathy Koch coached one season, her team going 6-7, before handing over the next four seasons to Barbara Koch. Donna Turnbaugh took over from there, coaching from 1976-81. Linda Lerch (1981-88) got the first taste of Ivy League action, while Kim Jordan (1988-95) led the team for seven seasons. Marnie Dacko (1995-2002) earned what was the most wins in program history at the time, posting an 80-104 record in her seven seasons at the helm. Current head coach Dayna Smith went on to break Dacko's record to become the winningest coach in program history, while leading the Big Red to its first-ever Ivy League championship and first NCAA tournament appearance in 2007-08. Smith’s teams have broken many school records, including wins in a season (20), conference wins (11), points in a season (1,889), 3-pointers in a season (200) and assists in a season (436). She has now led the Big Red for 18 seasons and is the second-longest tenured coach in the Ivy League.

Since the beginning of varsity play, the women’s team has had 33 different women earn at least one All-Ivy honor and 15 have scored 1,000 points or more during their careers. Rhonda Anderson was the first team member ever to make an All-Ivy team, being selected to the second team in the 1980-81 season, while Jeomi Maduka became Cornell’s only Ivy League Player of the Year and Associated Press All-America selection in 2007-08.


Cornell Women's Basketball Timeline

1971-72
Cornell earns its first win in program history, beating the Hartwick Hawks, 41-36, in just its second varsity contest.

1972-73
The Big Red earns its first winning season in only its second varsity season, going 7-3 under first-year head coach Barbara Koch.

1976-77
In head coach Donna Turnbaugh’s first campaign, Cornell has its season shortened, as the team is snowed in for several days in Watertown en route to St. Lawrence to open the season. Three weeks later, the team is in a bus accident on a snow-covered Interstate 81 while returning from a contest at Penn. Because many of the players sustained injuries, the remaining games are cancelled.

1979-80
The Big Red earns its first win in the inaugural season of the Ivy League tournament, as it defeats Columbia, 61-41.

1980-81
Rhonda Anderson is Cornell’s first-ever All-Ivy honoree, earning second team honors.

1981-82
Linda Lerch becomes the fourth coach in Big Red history and posts a 64-112 record over the next seven seasons.

1982-83
Rhonda Anderson becomes the first Big Red women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points. She also is named first-team All-Ivy and finishes second in Player of the Year voting. Anderson is also named the Cornell Sun athlete of the year while averaging 17.8 points per game and grabbing 11.0 rebounds per contest.

1983-84
The Big Red wins the most games in program history at that point (13), including dealing Ivy League champion Brown one of its two Ivy losses on the season. Cornell beats the Bears, 72-67, while getting 26 points and 11 rebounds from second-team All-Ivy selection Karin Dwyer

1985-86
Cornell senior Patty Mills becomes the first player to record more than 100 assists in each of her four seasons on the East Hill. She finishes her career as the schools leader in assists with 425.

1988-89
Cornell names Kim Jordan its fifth head coach in program history. Pattie Froehlich becomes just the second Cornell player to be named to the All-Ivy first team after averaging more than 15 points and 11 rebounds per game for the Big Red. She finishes her career as the second-leading scorer in program history.

1989-90
Karen Walker becomes the first Big Red player to reach the 1,000-point plateau during her junior season, reaching the mark in her 65th career game.

1990-91
Karen Walker leaves Cornell as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,650 points. A first-team All-Ivy selection as a senior, she also became the first Cornell basketball player, male or female, to average at least 15 points per game for four straight seasons.

1993-94
Kari Farley hits an NCAA record nine 3-point field goals without a miss, but the Big Red falls to Georgetown, 93-84, on December 20, 1993. Farley also ties the NCAA record for most consecutive 3-point field goals made and ends the game with 31 total points before fouling out with seven seconds remaining in the contest.

1994-95
The Big Red scores a school-record 99 points but is unable to take down Harvard, losing in overtime 99-105. Cornell was led by Keri Farley’s Newman Arena record 41 points in the loss. A first-team All-Ivy selection as a senior, Farley finishes her career as the second-highest scorer in school history with 1,380 points. Following the season, Coach Kim Jordan earns the first-ever Ivy League Coach of the Year award.

1995-96
Marnie Dacko is named the sixth head coach in program history and leads the team to its first .500 campaign in Ivy League play (7-7). Mary LaMacchia is named a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection after setting the school record for points in a season (467). She finishes her career ranked fifth in school history with 1,189 career points, third overall with 253 assists and first overall with 187 3-point field goals.

1996-97
Cornell records its first-ever upper-half finish (fourth) in Ivy League play after winning its final two games of the season, defeating Penn (65-63) and Princeton (58-57) to finish with a 7-7 record. Senior captain Kacee English spearheads the two victories with a then-school record of 20 assists during a two-game span. English ties the school record with 11 assists against Penn in the second to last game of the year and follows that performance with nine assists against Princeton. Following the season, Coach Marnie Dacko wins the Ivy League Coach of the Year award.

1998-99
The Ivy League celebrates its 25th year of women's championships by announcing its Silver Anniversary Honor Roll in each sport. Cornellians Rhonda Anderson ’83 and Keri Farley ’95 are honored with a selection. On the court, Breean Walas becomes the Big Red’s first-ever Ivy League Rookie of the Year after starting all 26 games for Cornell and averaging 12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

2000-01
The Big Red sets a new school record for overall wins and conference wins in as season, finishing the year 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the Ivy League, including a season-ending win over second place Harvard, 75-73. Freshman Karen Force solidifies her place on the Ivy League All-Rookie team with 10 points and nine assists with just two turnovers against the Crimson.

2001-02
The Big Red earns consecutive winning seasons for the first time while also finishing second in the Ivy League for the first time in school history. Do Stevens leads Cornell with 15.9 points per contest while also averaging over six rebounds, three assists and two steals per game on her way to a first-team All-Ivy selection. She ends her career as the third-leading scoring in school history with 1,327 career points.

2002-03
Karen Force becomes the first Cornell women’s basketball player to be named to the All-Ivy first-team as a junior. Force leads the Big Red in Dayna Smith’s first season as head coach with 15.1 points and 4.3 assists per game. Lynell Davis also ends her career as the all-time leader in blocked shots with 147.

2003-04
Cornell wins its third Cornell Classic tournament in seven years with a 66-55 victory over James Madison. Tournament MVP Tanya Karcic leads the team with a career-high 26 points against the Dukes. Karen Force, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored eight points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. Force leaves Cornell as the school’s all-time leader in career assists (459) and games played (108), while recording the fourth highest career scoring total in school history (1,257).

2005-06
Jeomi Maduka becomes the second Cornell basketball player to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Year after leading the team in scoring with 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

2006-07
The Big Red finishes third in the Ivy League, tying a school record with eight conference wins and going 12-15 overall. Jeomi Maduka once again leads the team with 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game en route to a second-team All-Ivy selection.

2007-08
The 2007-08 season proves to be the greatest in the history of the Big Red women’s basketball program, as Coach Smith leads the team to its first-ever Ivy League championship and first NCAA tournament appearance. Along the way, the team sets the school record for wins in a season (20), conference wins (11), points (1889), 3-pointers (200) and assists (436). The team also posts an undefeated conference record at home (7-0) and earns a program-best eight-straight victories from Feb. 1 to Feb. 29. Jeomi Maduka earns the program’s first All-America honor, as well as its first Ivy League Player of the Year accolade after scoring her 1,000th point. Lauren Benson also earned Ivy League honorable mention after breaking the school record for assists in a season (156).

2008-09
The Big Red closes the season with a fourth-place finish in the Ivy League after finishing the year with a 10-16 record overall and a mark of 6-8 in the conference. Junior Lauren Benson is named second-team All-Ivy, while Shannan Scarselletta closes out her career with an honorable mention selection and freshman Allison Abt was named to the All-Rookie team. 

2009-10 
Lauren Benson graduates as Cornell's all-time career assist leader (515), as well as the Big Red career leader in games played (109), games started (97) and minutes played (3,544).  

2010-11
In 2010-11, the Big Red boasted a roster that was the youngest in the Ivy League by percentage, as underclassmen made up 75 percent of the squad, and also by age, as the team’s average age at the start of the season was 19 years, four months. Despite starting three freshmen and two sophomores for the majority of the year, the Big Red still managed a 6-22 record overall and a mark of 3-11 in the conference, making head coach Dayna Smith the winningest coach in Cornell history in the process. The team improved dramatically as the season progressed, as evidenced by Cornell’s performances in the second round of conference play. In its second meeting with Ivy League opponents, Cornell won one more game and all of its offensive numbers (FG, 3FG, FG%, 3FG%, FT%, rebounds, points) went up, while turnovers went down. Following the season, Clare Fitzpatrick ’13 was named All-Ivy honorable mention.

2011-12 
The 2011-12 season was a nice bounce-back campaign as the Big Red finished with a record of 12-16 overall and  6-8 in Ivy League action, doubling its win totals both overall and in the conference from a season ago. Cornell was highly competitive in all of its games, with 10 of its contests being decided by eight points or less. During the season, Clare Fitzpatrick '13 became the 26th player in Cornell history, and 11th under Coach Smith, to register 800 points and 400 rebounds during her career. Following the season, Fitzpatrick and Allyson DiMagno '14 were both named Ivy League Honorable Mention.

2012-13 
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 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. DiMagno, who moved from guard to forward prior to the season, went on to set the Cornell record for rebounds in a season. The team’s seniors also left their mark on the program, beginning with Clare Fitzpatrick, who left Cornell ranking seventh in Big Red history in points (1,201), sixth in rebounds (609), fourth in free throws made (328), and fifth in blocked shots (68). She also became the first-ever player under Smith to reach 1,000 career points and 600 career rebounds. Spencer Lane ’13, who led the Ivy League in her senior season in assists per game and assist/turnover ratio, finished her career ranking eighth all-time in Cornell history in assists (284) and 14th overall in career steals (113). Taylor Flynn ’13, ended her career ranking eighth all-time in 3-pointers made (110), while forward Kristina Danielak ’13 left Cornell ranking fourth all-time in career field goal percentage (.497) and 10th all-time in Cornell history with 55 career blocks.

2013-14
The Big Red posted its best overall record since its Ivy League championship campaign, going 14-14 overall and finishing fifth in the Ivy League at 6-8. Cornell was highly competitive in conference play, with half of its losses coming by eight or fewer points.During the season, Allyson DiMagno established herself as one of the greatest players in Ivy League history, becoming just the 10th player ever, and first at Cornell, to accumulate 1,300 points and 900 rebounds. Following the season, she was named second-team All-Ivy. The 2013-14 campaign also featured the emergence of Nia Marshall ’17, who was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week five times during the course of the season and became the first Cornell freshman women’s basketball player to ever earn a Player of the Week honor. DiMagno graduated as the all-time career rebounding leader in Big Red history, and she also set the career records for offensive rebounds (347), defensive rebounds (591), games played (112) and minutes played (3663). She ranks second in Cornell history for career free throw percentage (.837) and is third all-time in career points (1329), behind only Karen Walker and Keri Farley. Additionally, she ranks in the top-10 in free throws made (fourth – 328), steals (fifth – 173), field goals made (sixth – 457), 3-point field goal percentage (seventh –.354) and field goal percentage (ninth – .440). 

2014-15
Cornell finished the 2014-15 season with a 15-13 record (6-8 Ivy), the program's first winning season since the 2007-08 campaign. With its 9-5 non-conference record, the Big Red earned a winning non-conference record for the third straight season, a feat that has never been accomplished in Cornell women's basketball history. At one point, the Big Red had a six-game winning streak from Dec. 30, 2014 to Jan. 30, 2015, the longest since setting the school record with eight consecutive victories during the 2007-08 season. Following a brilliant sophomore campaign in which she came just 13 points shy of setting the school record, Nia Marshall was named first-team All-Ivy. She was the Big Red's first member of the top conference team since Jeomi Maduka took home first-team honors following the 2007-08 season. Additionally, Marshall was named a College Sports Madness first-team selection. Marshall became the first player in Cornell women's basketball history to score at least 30 points three times in the same season. But Marshall was not the only member of the sophomore class to have impressive single-game performances, as Nicholle Aston set the school record for field goal percentage in a single game (1.000; 8-for-8 vs. Marshall on Nov. 26), and Megan LeDuc matched the Cornell single-game record with eight steals vs. Columbia on Jan. 17. Additionally, the 2014-15 squad set the school record for the fewest turnovers in a single game with just five miscues at Penn on Feb. 6. 

2015-16
The Big Red finished the year with a 14-14 record (6-8 Ivy). With its 8-6 non-conference record, Cornell earned a winning non-conference record for the fourth straight season, a feat that has never been accomplished in Cornell women's basketball history. As a team, the Big Red finished the year ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA in fewest turnovers (third – 350), assist/turnover ratio (21st – 1.22), fewest fouls (26th – 454), and assists per game (49th – 15.2). Nia Marshall ’17 came just four points shy of breaking Cornell's single-season scoring record, concluding the 2015-16 campaign with 464 points, and earning second-team All-Ivy honors. With her 464-point performance, Marshall became just the third player in Cornell women's basketball history to reach 400 points in a season twice in a career. She led the conference in scoring average (16.6 ppg.) and was 12th overall in rebounding (5.8 rpg.). 

2016-17
Cornell finished the season in fourth place in the Ivy League standings with a record of 16-11 overall and 7-7 in the conference, the most wins and conference wins in a season since the 2007-08 team went 20-9 overall and 11-3 in the Ivy League. Following the season, Nia Marshall was named second-team ECAC and first-team All-Ivy, while classmate Megan LeDuc took home honorable mention All-Ivy accolades.
Marshall graduated as Cornell's all-time leading scorer with 1,685 career points and finished the 2016-17 season ranked in the top 10 in the Ivy League in scoring (third), rebounding (10th), steals (fourth), blocked shots (eighth), defensive rebounds (10th) and minutes played (ninth). She led Cornell is scoring for the third consecutive season with 15.3 points per game and scored 414 total points, becoming the first player in the history of the program to amass more than 400 points in a season three times in her career. 
 
2017-18
The Big Red finished the season with a 7-20 record overall and a mark of 3-11 in the Ivy League.

2018-19
Cornell, chosen to finish eighth in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, placed fourth in the conference to advance to the Ivy Tournament for the first time in the three-year history of the league's postseason play. Following the season, junior Laura Bagwell-Katalinich became just the 11th first-team All-Ivy selection in Big Red women's basketball history after ranking in the top 10 in the Ivy League in scoring (fourth), rebounding (third), free throw percentage (first), field goal percentage (10th), steals per game (10th), offensive rebounds (third) and defense rebounds (ninth). Bagwell-Katalinich was also named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-District Women's Basketball First Team. 

2019-20
Cornell posted a 10-16 overall record and a mark of 3-11 in Ivy League play in 2019-20. One of the Big Red's three conference wins was a 55-47 victory at Harvard, marking the first time Cornell had defeated the Crimson in Cambridge, Mass. in the series' history. Samantha Widmann became Cornell's 15th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club, finishing her career with 1,159 points, a mark which ranks 12th all-time in the Big Red record books. The senior undoubtedly left her legacy on the program, as she will leave Cornell ranked fourth in career offensive rebounds (221), fifth in career field goal percentage (.465), sixth in career defensive rebounds (387), sixth in career steals (174), eighth in career rebounds (608), and 10th in career field goals made (437). Laura Bagwell-Katalinich also made quite the impact in her two seasons with the Big Red, closing out her time in a Big Red uniform ranked third in career scoring average (14.8 ppg), fifth in career rebound average (7.5 rpg), and sixth in career field goal percentage (.456). Following the 2019-20 season, both Widmann and Bagwell-Katalinich were named Honorable Mention All-Ivy. Bagwell-Katalinich received a slew of awards over the season, being named CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second-straight year in addition to being selected as one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award in collegiate women's basketball. She is only the second student-athlete in Cornell women's basketball history to accomplish both of these feats, joining Allyson DiMagno '14.
 
 
Cornell Women's Basketball, Year-by-Year