To outside observers, many view Ithaca as a small, rural town, but Cornell University women’s basketball player Gretchen Gregg knows better. That’s because Gregg hails from Marienville, Pa., population 1,300, roughly one-tenth the enrollment at Cornell.
So why would a girl, who attended a K-12 school with less than 300 students and grew up with her grandparents living right across the street, decide to attend a college with 13,700 undergraduates?
“Playing Division I basketball and the great education,” said Gregg. “You can’t pass up that opportunity to get the best of both worlds. I wanted a bigger school and I thought Cornell would be a nice place to get lost for a little while and not know everybody and have everybody know me. That’s what I was looking for – to just sit in a class of 300 people and sit by someone new everyday. I adjusted really well; it went a lot smoother than I thought it would actually. The team helped out with that.”
The team is something Gregg has been an intricate part of for the past three years. She had a strong freshman season, leading the Big Red in both field goal percentage (39 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (38 percent), and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week once. Over the next two seasons, Gregg saw action in 48 games, including 15 starts, and averaged nearly 4.0 points per game. This year, however, Gregg has started every game and has seen those numbers double, pouring in nearly 9.0 points per game. She is connecting on 46.3 percent from the field and currently ranks first in the nation in 3-point shooting, connecting on 49.4 percent from beyond the arc.
That production is something that head coach Dayna Smith envisioned when she recruited Gregg from the same AAU team she had played for many years prior.
“I always try to watch that program because it usually has a handful of good players from western Pennsylvania,” said Smith. “We saw Gretchen at a national tournament when she hit four 3-pointers in one game and she immediately caught our attention. We were impressed with her shooting stroke and how well she elevates for a woman. She was a very consistent shooter and we felt like she would be able to grow into an all-around player.”
As Gregg has grown, she has also watched the Big Red grow, and seen its record improve year after year. During Gregg’s freshman season, the team went 3-24 (1-13 Ivy), but improved to 8-19 the next year (5-9 Ivy). Last year, Cornell finished the season with a 12-15 record, tied for the fourth-most wins in program history, and the most ever under Smith. The team also boasted an 8-6 Ivy League record, tying the mark for the most conference wins by the women’s basketball program in a single season, and finished the year ranked third in the conference. Prior to this season, the Big Red was selected to finish in a tie for second place in the Ivy League in the preseason media poll, the highest its ever been selected.
“Obviously an Ivy League championship is what everyone has in mind, and I think during the early part of the season we proved that can compete with teams at all different levels and win games,” said Gregg. “These non-conference games have prepared us for all the situations we might face in the Ivy League. Our expectations are getting higher and when we all work together we’re a hard team to stop. When we’re all focused on doing a certain thing, then its five people clicking, which hasn’t happened before. I think that’s what’s made us better.”
Smith gives credit to Gregg for helping the team click, both as a shooter and as one of the team’s tri-captains.
“When Gretchen is shooting well, it really sparks the team. They feel her confidence and it carries over to them,” said Smith. “Despite her shyness, she is someone the team respects because of her work ethic and love for the game. She leads by example, playing hard every day, and encourages her teammates. She has found a way to be a good captain and teammate behind the scenes.”
One of her fellow tri-captains, senior Megan Hughes adds: “Gretchen may seem shy, and your first impression of her may be that she is a woman of few words, but the quiet girl from Marienville, who graduated from a public school class of 24 people, is not as tight-lipped as you may think. She offers plenty of entertainment, encouragement, and wisdom to her closest friends and teammates. Nor will her modest nature volunteer information about what a great leader she is to her teammates and her community, or her passion for working with children, and her aspirations to pursue a career in teaching. I have watched her grow to become an excellent student, loyal friend and a great co-captain. There is no one more dedicated to Cornell basketball, and no one prouder to be a Cornellian.”