Game Notes (PDF)

Game #14: Cornell vs. Columbia
Tip off: Saturday, Jan. 16, at 2:00 p.m.
Series Record: Cornell leads, 36-20
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 58-53, Jan. 24, 2009 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2009-10 Records: Cornell (5-8), Columbia (9-5)
Live Radio: None
Live Audio: None
Television: Time Warner Sports
Live Stats: www.CornellBigRed.com 
Live Video: www.CornellBigRed.com  

THE MATCHUP – The Big Red opens Ivy League play on Saturday, Jan. 16 as it takes on Columbia at 2 p.m., part of a Big Red basketball doubleheader, as the Cornell men's team will take on the Lions at 4 p.m. The Big Red (5-8) is looking to end a four-game losing streak, but welcomes a hot Lions team to Ithaca, as Columbia improved to 9-5 on the season after defeating St. Francis (N.Y.), 68-56, on Monday evening.

THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA — Cornell's rivalry with Columbia began in the 1975-76 season when the team represented Barnard College (the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium was organized in 1984-85, at which time the team began playing under the name Columbia). The Big Red had a five-game winning streak vs. the Lions snapped during the 2006-07 season at Levien Gym and saw that losing streak extend to two games when it dropped its second in a row to Columbia in the 2007-08 Ivy League opener, also played at Levien Gym. Cornell rebounded a week later to take the 58-53 decision at Newman Arena to improve its record in the all-time series to 36-20. The Big Red dominated the series throughout the `90s as the teams met 20 times from the 1990-91 to 1999-2000, with the Cornell winning 17 of those meetings, including 12 straight from 1993 to 2000. Since the 2000-01 season, the series is tied at 9-9.

SCOUTING THE LIONS – Columbia has won five of its last six games to improve to 9-5 on the season. During that span, its lone loss came by way of a 60-58 decision at N.C. State on Jan. 4. The team is led by Judie Lomax, who averages a double-double with 17.6 points and 14.6 rebounds per game. Kathleen Barry (12.2) and Lauren Dwyer (11.0) also average scoring in double figures for the Lions. Danielle Brown runs the offense, registering 4.8 assists per game, while last season's Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Sara Yee is averaging 1.0 steal per contest.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA – Allie Munson was dominant, recording career highs of 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in helping the Big Red to a 58-53 win over Columbia. Munson connected on 8-of-9 shots from the floor and had 11 points in the decisive second half as the Big Red erased a 12-point first half deficit to earn the win. Also in double figures were Shannan Scarselletta (12) and Allie Fedorowicz (11), who also chipped in four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Lauren Benson was held to just five points, but had seven assists and five rebounds. For the Lions, Lauren Dwyer had 13 points, while both Judie Lomax and Danielle Brown each had 12. Lomax added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Columbia held a 46-36 edge on the boards, including 21 total offensive rebounds.

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 27-15 in front of the Newman Nation. The turnaround in Ivy League play has been even more impressive. During her first four seasons, Cornell was 9-19 at home in conference play. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Big Red has gone 15-6 against the Ancient Eight.

NATIONAL RANKINGS – Cornell is making its mark in the national rankings, both individually and as a team. As of the rankings on Sunday, Jan. 10, Virginia McMunigal ranked 29th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (44.8 percent), while senior point guard Lauren Benson was 20th in the country in assists per game (5.8). As a team, the Big Red was 37th in 3-point field goal percentage (36.8 percent) and 49th in 3-pointers made per game (6.8).

HELPING HAND – With her five assists at Binghamton, Lauren Benson surpassed Patty Mills and moved into second place in Cornell history with 430 career assists. Benson, who set the school record for assists in a single-season (156) in 2007-08, needed just 22 more to become the Big Red's all-time leader in career assists.

SWAT TEAM – As a team, the Big Red blocked at least one shot in 36 straight games before not registering a single block vs. Liberty on Dec. 28. Cornell started a new streak the next night vs. Samford and is currently riding a four-game streak.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM TIMES TWO – Allie Fedorowicz was named to the All-Tournament teams of both the Marriott Cavalier Classic and the Maggie Dixon Classic.

THE HOT HAND –Virginia McMunigal and Allie Fedorowicz rank third and fourth, respectively, in the Ivy League in 3-point field goals made per game. The duo is also third and ninth, respectively in 3-point field goal percentage.

MEETING MILESTONES – Senior Allie Fedorowicz accumulated 700 career points with her 10-point performance vs. Samford at the Marriott Cavalier Classic. Classmate Lauren Benson, who reached the 300-rebound plateau with her 10 caroms vs. Samford, needs just one point to reach 700 for her career.

MOVING ON UP – With her six 3-pointers vs. Albany, senior Allie Fedorowicz jumped from sixth to third place in Cornell history for career 3-pointers with 112 treys. Fedorowicz currently has 122 career 3-pointers and needed just eight more to surpass Karen Force, who sits in second place with 129. Classmate Virginia McMunigal has also moved into the top-10 list for career 3-pointers, ranking ninth with 103.

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

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.

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. Just two games later vs. Miami, the three seniors all scored double-digits again.

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).

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 67.7 percent of its made shots (184-of-272). 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%).

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-39 contests, not including two contests during her career in which she rode the bench for less than 30 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.

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 22 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 weekend when it travels to New York City to complete its home-and-home series with Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4:30 p.m.