Game Notes (PDF)

Game #9: Cornell vs. Miami
Tip-off: Monday, Dec. 21, at 7:00 p.m. (Newman Arena)
Series Record: Miami leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Miami won, 61-47, on Jan. 2, 2009 (Coral Gables, Fla.)
2009-10 Records: Cornell (5-3), Miami (8-1)
Live Radio: None
Live Video: www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Stats: www.CornellBigRed.com

THE MATCHUP – The Big Red plays its final game before a short holiday break this evening as it welcomes ACC foe Miami to Newman Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Cornell is 5-3 on the season after a thrilling 71-67 comeback victory at Manhattan on Saturday. The Hurricanes are on a short tour of the Northeast, owning an 8-1 record after defeating Binghamton, 68-52, on Saturday.

SCOUTING THE HURRICANES – Miami is off to one of its best starts in school history, improving to 8-1 on the season after defeating Binghamton, 68-52, on Saturday. The team averages 78.7 points per game, thanks to five players averaging double-digits, including Riquna Williams' team-best 24.1 points per game. Williams is the team's best deep threat, as she has taken over half of the team's total 3-point attempts and has connected on 39.2 percent (31-of-79) of them. Joining Williams in double-figures is Shenise Johnson (17.1), Stefanie Yderstrom (11.0), Charmaine Clark (10.4) and Diane Barnes (10.4). Barnes is averaging a double-double for Miami with a team-high 10.4 rebounds per game as well.

THE SERIES VS. MIAMI — Cornell and Miami will meet for the second time in women's basketball history today. Last year's meeting was the first in the series and it was won by the Hurricanes, 61-47, on Jan. 2, 2009.

A WIN WOULD —
• improve Cornell to 6-3 on the season.
• be Coach Smith's 78th career victory, moving her to within two wins of becoming Cornell's all-time winningest coach.
• be Cornell's first victory over an ACC opponent.
• be the Big Red's first win over a school from a BCS conference since defeating Syracuse, 82-62, during the 2003-04 season.
• improve Cornell to 3-7 all-time vs. teams from Florida.

CORNELL VS. THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE —Cornell is 0-5 all-time vs. the current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Big Red has a losing record against Boston College (0-1), Georgia Tech (0-2), Miami (0-1) and Virginia Tech (0-1), but has never faced Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia or Wake Forest.

WELCOME THE BCS – Miami is the first school from a BCS conference to visit Ithaca since Syracuse came to Newman Arena during the 2005-06 season. Other than the Orange, who have travelled to Ithaca four times, the only other school from a BCS conference to make the trip is St. John's (2004-05 season).

SUNSHINE STATE – The Big Red hasn't played many games vs. teams from the Sunshine State, with today's game vs. Miami marking the 10th meeting between the Cornell women's basketball team and a team from Florida. The Big Red is 2-7 all-time against Florida teams, with both wins coming vs. Stetson (2-1). Cornell has also played Bethune-Cookman (0-1), Florida Atlantic (0-1), Florida Gulf Coast (0-1), Florida Southern (0-1), Miami (0-1) and South Florida (0-1).

NATIONAL RANKINGS – Cornell is making its mark in the national rankings, both individually and as a team. As of the rankings on Monday, Dec. 14, Virginia McMunigal ranked fifth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (54.5 percent), while senior point guard Lauren Benson was seventh in the country in assists per game (7.1). Allie Fedorowicz ranked high in two categories, sitting in 17th place in 3-point field goal percentage (50.0 percent) and 22nd in 3-pointers made per game (3.0). As a team, the Big Red was fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (42.6 percent), 11th in 3-pointers made per game (8.3), 25th in 3-point field goal defense (25.2 percent) and 35th in assists per game (16.3).

STUDYING THE OPPONENTS – With the victory over Manhattan on Dec. 19, Coach Smith's record following the annual Cornell two-week study break improved to 6-2 overall. Since the 1980-81 season, the Big Red is just 12-18 coming out of the study break.

COME BACK KIDS – When Cornell beat Manhattan, 71-67, it marked the first time this season that the Big Red has come back to defeat an opponent after trailing at the half.

FREE THROW FIENDS – The Big Red managed to defeat Manhattan, 71-67, on Dec. 19, despite the fact that Cornell did not hit a field goal for the final 6:54 of the game. A layup by Allie Munson put the Big Red up, 60-50, with 6:54 to play, but from there, Cornell's only scoring came at the foul line, where it converted 11-of-14 to hold on for the victory. During the stretch, Allie Fedorowicz came up big, scoring Cornell's final seven points as she went 7-for-8, including making three free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.

SENIOR STORM – Cornell's three seniors – Lauren Benson, Allie Fedorowicz and Virginia McMunigal – all scored in double-digits vs. Colgate on Dec. 3. The last time the Big Red had three seniors score in double-digits came on March 5, 2004, when Tanya Karcic, Katie Romey and Lauren Kilduff did so in an 83-60 loss to Yale.

20 POINT PERFORMANCES – In its three straight games vs. Tennessee State, Albany and Colgate, Cornell had at least one player reach the 20-point plateau. The last time the Big Red had a stretch like that came during the 2005-06 season when Cornell had at least one player reach 20 points in four straight games. The streak began with Clare Perry (22 vs. Penn) on Jan. 13, 2006. The next night, Shannan Scarselletta (20 vs. Princeton) led Cornell. The streak concluded in back-to-back games vs. Columbia on Jan. 21 (Jeomi Maduka – 22 points) and Jan. 28 (Clare Perry – 23 points).

THE HOT HAND –Virginia McMunigal and Allie Fedorowicz hold the two top spots in the Ivy League in 3-point field goals made per game. The duo is also first and third, respectively in 3-point field goal percentage.

MOVING ON UP – With her six 3-pointers vs. Albany, Allie Fedorowicz jumped from sixth to third place in Cornell history for career 3-pointers with 112 treys. Fedorowicz currently has 117 career 3-pointers and needed just 13 more to surpass Karen Force, who sits in second place with 129.

RAINING THREES – With her seven 3-pointers vs. IUPUI on Nov. 24, senior Virginia McMunigal etched her name in the Cornell record books, with the second-most 3-pointers in a single game for the Big Red. The record was set by Keri Farley, who connected on nine treys at Georgetown on Dec. 20, 1993. McMunigal joins Kayleen Fitzsimmons (vs. Harvard on March 3, 2006), as well as Suzy Onze (at Princeton on March 5, 1994 and vs. Brown Feb. 18, 1994), who have both registered seven 3-pointers in a game.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE – So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 72.2 percent of its made shots (133-of-184). That is the best percentage during Coach Smith's tenure, including the 2007-08 season in which Cornell set the school record for assists (436-of-659 – 66.1%).

HOME SWEET HOME – Cornell has turned around its performance at Newman Arena in recent years. During the first four years of Coach Smith's tenure, the Big Red posted an 18-28 record at home. Since the 2006-07 season, however, Cornell has gone 27-14 in front of the Newman Nation.

40-MINUTE WOMAN – Lauren Benson set a new career-high on Feb. 27, 2009 when she played a full 45 minutes in the Big Red's 66-61 overtime victory against Dartmouth. Over the past two seasons, Benson has played a full 40 minutes in 10-of-34 contests, not including the Columbia game on Jan. 24, 2009, in which she played 39:34, riding the bench for just 26 seconds. Benson has racked up 14 complete games during her career. Only Karen Walker '91 (27) and Kacee English '97 (17) have played more 40-minute games than Benson.

COACHING HISTORY — With her victory over Bryant on Nov. 29, 2008, Coach Smith surpassed Linda Lerch (1981-88) to move into second place in Cornell women's basketball history in number of wins by a coach. Smith has 77 wins with the Big Red, sitting behind only former coach Marnie Dacko (1995-2002), who ranks first all-time in wins with 80.

HELPING HAND – With her seven assists vs. IUPUI, Lauren Benson surpassed Kacee English to move into third place in Cornell history for career assists. Currently, Benson has 417 career assists, sitting just eight assists behind Patty Mills (2nd – 425). Benson, who set the school record for assists in a single-season (156) in 2007-08, needs just 42 more to become the Big Red's all-time leader in career assists.

SWAT TEAM – As a team, the Big Red has blocked at least one shot in each of its last 35 games, dating back to the end of the 2007-08 season. Allie Munson leads the team with 19 career blocks, while Allie Fedorowicz and Christine Vlasic have 16 and 14, respectively, for their careers.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM – Allie Fedorowicz was named to the All-Tournament team of the Maggie Dixon Classic, as she led the Big Red in scoring in both games. Against No. 17 DePaul, Fedorowicz went 5-for-9, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range to lead Cornell with 14 points vs. the Blue Demons. The following day vs. Tennessee State, Fedorowicz registered a game-high 24 points, shooting an incredible 8-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, to go along with five rebounds, three assists and one steal. For the weekend, she shot an impressive 72 percent from the field and 70 percent from 3-point range.

FOR THE (ASSIST) RECORD – Lauren Benson set the school record for assists in a single game with 12 vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 21, breaking a record that had been held by her and five other former Cornell players. Benson already owns the single season assist record (156 in 2007-08) and is just 42 helpers away from the Big Red career record.

SCORES A LOT – Cornell racked up 92 points vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 22. That is the highest point output by the Big Red during Coach Smith's tenure and is the most since Cornell scored 90 at Canisius in a two-point loss on Sept. 27, 1998.

HALFTIME HIGH – The Big Red registered 54 points in the opening half of play vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 22, the most points scored in a single half during Coach Smith's time at Cornell. The previous high of 50 points occurred vs. Yale on Feb. 20, 2008.

WELCOME HOME – For the first time since coming to East Hill, senior Lauren Benson returned to her home state as the Big Red traveled to Chicago, Ill., to take part in DePaul's Maggie Dixon Classic. Benson made the consolation game vs. Tennessee State a memorable one for her many fans in the stands, as she set the Cornell record for assists in a single game with 12.

DOUBLE-DIGIT ROOKIES – In the first games of their collegiate careers vs. Duquesne, both Clare Fitzpatrick and Taylor Flynn registered 11 points for the Big Red. The last time Cornell had two freshman reach double-digits in the same game came on March 3, 2006 vs. Harvard when Kayleen Fitzsimmons and Jeomi Maduka tallied 23 and 15 points, respectively.

STANDING TALL – Standing at 6-4, sophomore Christine Vlasic is the tallest player in Cornell women's basketball history. Prior to Vlasic's arrival, the Big Red had three players that came in at 6-3 – Megan Fannon (2002-04), Christine McMillan (1997-2000) and Karen Lauster (1988-89).

SIX-FOOTERS – For just the second time in program history, the Big Red has seven players on its roster that stand 6-0 or taller. The only other time Cornell had seven six-footers was in 1999-2000.

BACK ON THE ATTACK – The Big Red returns 72.9% of its scoring from last season, including five of its top six scorers.

TOP HALF – With three top-four finishes in her seven seasons, head coach Dayna Smith has equaled the number of top-half finishes achieved by Cornell in the 20 years prior to her arrival.

IRISH NATIONAL – Sophomore Susie Doyle has been a member of the U16, U17, U18 and U20 Irish national teams. She led her U16 and U18 Irish National Teams to the European Championships and was named captain of the U16 squad in 2004 and the U18 in 2006. She was named MVP of the U18 team.

FOUR-YEAR FOREIGNERS – Susie Doyle will have the opportunity to be the first of her kind – a foreign student that uses all four years of her eligibility at Cornell. The Big Red has had three foreigners in program history: Jumana Salti (Amman, Jordan), Sarah Lee (Deep River, Ontatio) and Moïna Snyder (Nice, Frace), but all three only played two years for Cornell.

FOR OPENERS – The Big Red owns a 17-22 all-time record in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith has posted a 1-7 record in season openers during her time with Cornell.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – Seniors Lauren Benson, Allie Fedorowicz and Virginia McMunigal will serve as team captains for this season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – The Big Red added six players to this year's squad: Caitlin Costello (Levittown, N.Y.), Kristina Danielak (Georgetown, Texas), Clare Fitzpatrick (Southbury, Conn.), Taylor Flynn (Floral Park, N.Y.), Whitney Hagan (Atlanta, Ga.) and Spencer Lane (W. Bloomfield, Mich.). The class hails from five different states and consists of three guards and three forwards.

HI, MY NAME IS – Cornell has a new face on the bench, as Julious Coleman has joined the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach. Coleman came to the Big Red with nearly 15 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including stops at Northwest Nazarene, Boise State and Northern Arizona University. Before beginning his professional coaching career at Northwest Nazarene, Coleman spent three seasons as a graduate assistant at Kansas State. Prior to that, Coleman played at Point Loma Nazarene for three seasons, starting two, after spending one year at Pasadena City College.

AROUND THE WORLD – Each summer, Lauren Benson has done something to improve her game, and this summer was no different. The All-Ivy point guard kicked off her vacation by participating in a European tour with USA Athletes International. She was chosen for a team comprised of other Division I women's basketball players and traveled to Vienna, the Czech Republic, Southern Austria, and Italy to play seven games against foreign competition. Benson, who was recommended for the team by Coach Smith, teamed up with Angel Chan (Central Michigan), Sharonda Hurd (Central Michigan), Latisha Luckett (Central Michigan), Jence Rhoads (Vanderbilt), Bianca Smith (Colorado), Gaati Werema (Prairie View A&M), Breynna Winkler (Gardner-Webb) and Jordan Zuppe (IPFW).

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS — Cornell was chosen to finish tied with Yale for fifth-place in the Ivy League, according to the preseason media poll. Dartmouth was selected to finish first with 11-of-16 possible first-place votes (123 points total), with Harvard earning the other five to come in second with 115 points. Princeton was tabbed to finish third (86), edging out fourth-place Columbia by three votes. Yale was tied with the Big Red for fifth with 57 points, while Penn (36) and Brown (19) round out the poll.

THE 2008-09 SEASON – The Big Red closed the 2008-09 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. It marked the third straight season in which Cornell finished in the top half of the league.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE – Lauren Benson registered the first double-double of her career against Dartmouth on Feb. 27, 2009, doing it the hard way with 12 points and 10 assists to lead the Big Red. The last time a Big Red player registered a point-assist double-double came nearly 12 years prior when Kim Ruck scored 14 points and handed out 11 assists on Feb. 7, 1997 against Brown.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY – Three members of the Big Red earned All-Ivy honors following the 2008-09 season, highlighted by Lauren Benson's second-team selection. Joining Benson was honorable mention selection Shannan Scarselletta '09 and All-Rookie team pick Allison Abt.

UP NEXT – Cornell is back in action next week as it travels to the Virginia Holiday Tournament, where it will face Liberty in the opening round on Monday, Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m. The Big Red will face either the host Cavaliers or Samford the following day, Tuesday, Dec. 29. The consolation game will be played at 4:30 p.m., with the championship game taking place at 7 p.m.