Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME #8: Cornell vs. Canisius
TIP OFF: Sunday, Dec. 19, at 2:00 p.m. (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Canisius leads, 5-1
LAST MEETING: Canisius won, 84-54 on Nov. 23, 2005 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2010-11 RECORDS: Cornell (1-6, 0-0 Ivy), Canisius (2-6, 0-0 MAAC)
LIVE AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: CornellBigRed.com

GAME #9: Cornell vs. Manhattan
TIP OFF: Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 7:00 p.m. (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 71-67 on Dec. 19, 2009 (Riverdale, N.Y.)
2010-11 RECORDS: Cornell (1-6, 0-0 Ivy), Manhattan (5-3, 0-0 MAAC)*
LIVE AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: CornellBigRed.com

*Records prior to Saturday, Dec. 18

THE MATCHUPS – The Big Red concludes a 17-day study break with its first home games in nearly a month as it welcomes a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents to Newman Arena this week. Cornell will open the home stand with a game against Canisius on Sunday, Dec. 19, before facing Manhattan on Tuesday, Dec. 21. The Big Red is riding a three-game losing streak with its last victory coming in its last home game, as it defeated Winston-Salem. The Golden Griffins are 2-6 on the year after falling last weekend to Eastern Michigan, while the Lady Jaspers entered Saturdays' game at Fordham with a record of 5-3.

THE SERIES VS. CANISIUS — Canisius holds the all-time advantage against the Big Red, 5-1, and has won the last two outings, but the teams have not met since the 2005-06 season. The series began in the 1988-89 season with the Golden Griffins winning the first three meetings before the Big Red took its lone win in the series during the 1999-2000 season.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS – Canisius lost its fourth straight contest when it fell to Eastern Michigan last weekend, slipping to 2-6 on the year. The Griffs are led by sophomore guard Ashley Durham's 11.8 points per game, while freshman forward Jamie Ruttle averages a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game. Micayla Drysdale is the main 3-point threat on a team that shoots just .263 percent from beyond the arc, as the senior guard has connected on .444 percent (12-of-27) so far this season.

THE SERIES VS. MANHATTAN – Cornell and the Lady Jaspers have met just once on the hardwood, as the series began last season with a 71-67 Big Red victory.

SCOUTING THE LADY JASPERS – Manhattan took a 5-3 record into Saturday's game at Fordham. Senior guard Abby Wentworth leads the team in points (13.5), assists (4.5), and steals (3.0) per game and ranks second overall in rebounds (5.3). Junior forward Nadia Peters is averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Maggie Blair (.440; 11-for-25) and freshman guard Monica Roeder (.400; 16-for-40) are the team's best 3-point shooters.

CORNELL VS. THE MAAC – Cornell fell to 12-29 all-time vs. the current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference when it lost to Fairfield earlier this season. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Iona (1-0) and Manhattan (1-0), but has a losing record vs. Canisius (1-5), Fairfield (1-2), Loyola (0-2), Marist (2-7), Niagara (6-10) and Siena (0-3). Cornell has never faced Rider or St. Peter's in women's basketball ... Coach Smith's record against teams in the MAAC is 3-5.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED –
• The Big Red saw a four-game winning streak against Colgate snapped as the Raiders defeated Cornell, 65-52, at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y.
• Freshman Allyson DiMagno and sophomore Taylor Flynn were the Big Red's leading scorers with 10 points apiece. It was the first time this season that DiMagno or Flynn led Cornell in scoring.
• DiMagno's 10 points were a career-high.
• Freshman Stephanie Long had one of her most complete games in a Cornell uniform with seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.

STUDYING THE OPPONENTS – Since the 1980-81 season, the Big Red is 12-18 coming out of Cornell's two-week study break. However, Coach Smith's teams have fared much better, improving to 6-2 in the first game back with last season's victory over Manhattan.

COACHING HISTORY — With the victory over Winston-Salem, head coach Dayna Smith recorded her 80th career win with the Big Red, tying the school record for wins by a coach, joining Marnie Dacko (1995-2002).

FITZPATRICK LEADING THE WAY – Sophomore forward Clare Fitzpatrick has led the Big Red in scoring in 4-of-7 games this season. Over the course of 27 games last season, Fitzpatrick led the team in scoring just three times.

OFFENSIVE SHIFT – Last season, Cornell had only five games in which a forward led the team in scoring, with Clare Fitzpatrick doing it three times and Allie Munson leading the team twice. So far this season, forwards have led the team in scoring four times.

I'LL TAKE THAT – The Big Red is averaging 7.3 steals per game. That is the best average since the 2006-07 team registered 8.0 steals per game.
HELPING HAND – So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 86-of-131 baskets (65.6 percent). That is just down from last season when Cornell assisted on 67.7 percent of its made shots (364-of-537), which is the best percentage during Coach Smith's tenure.

SUDDEN IMPACT – Four of the Big Red's top six scorers so far this season are freshmen. Rookie Allyson DiMagno ranks second on the team with 7.0 points per game, while Stephanie Long (6.3), Shelby Lyman (5.9) and Aspen Chandler (4.9) rank third, fifth and sixth, respectively.

FRESH START – A pair of guards, sophomore Spencer Lane and freshman Shelby Lyman, made their first career starts for the Big Red vs. Cleveland State … Junior college transfer Maka Anyanwu and freshman Stephanie Long earned their first starts of the season vs. Winston-Salem ... Freshman Allyson DiMagno made her first career start at Oakland.

YOUTH WILL BE SERVED – With just one senior and two juniors, the Big Red squad boasts nine sophomores and freshmen, meaning that underclassmen comprise 75% of the roster. That makes Cornell the youngest team in the Ivy League by percentage with Brown (73%) and Columbia (70%) slightly trailing. The average age of the Big Red is 19 years, four months. Senior Susie Doyle is the oldest member of the team at 21 years, eight months, while freshman Stephanie Long is the youngest, at 18 years, three months. Long is just 12 days younger than fellow freshman Allyson DiMagno.

40-MINUTE WOMAN – Freshman Shelby Lyman played a full 40 minutes vs. Cleveland State, becoming the only player in Coach Smith's tenure to play a full game in their first collegiate start.

CLEAR THE BENCH – In 4-of-7 games this season, Coach Smith has used all seven members of the Big Red bench.

WELCOME BACK – After suffering a season-ending injury prior to the start of last season, senior Susie Doyle made her return to the court vs. Cleveland State.

FOR OPENERS – With its loss to Cleveland State, the Big Red fell to 17-23 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith has posted a 1-8 record in season openers during her time with Cornell.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – Senior Susie Doyle and junior Allie Munson will serve as team captains for the 2010-11 season.

SMARTY PANTS – For the second straight season, the Big Red has been named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. Cornell was the only Ivy League institutions on the list, ranking 25th overall with a team GPA of 3.308.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – The Big Red added six players to the 2010-11 squad: Maka Anyanwu (Oakland, Calif.), Aspen Chandler (Dallas, Texas), Joelle Davidson (Hyattsville, Md.), Allyson DiMagno (Fairport, N.Y.), Stephanie Long (Norwich, Conn.) and Shelby Lyman (Snohomish, Wash.). The class of six players come from six different states and consists of four guards, one forward and one player that could see action at guard or forward.

UMPQUA COMMUNITY CONNECTION – Junior college transfer Maka Anyanwu comes to the Big Red after a successful season at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. Fans of the Big Red should know UCC, as it was the two-year home of former Cornell standout Moina Snyder '07.

ALL IN THE FAMILY – Freshman 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 currently plays football for the University of Wisconsin and her grandfather Wayne Long ran track and field in college.

IRISH NATIONAL – Senior 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.

WELCOME BACK – Former Cornell women's basketball standout Gretchen Gregg '08 has returned to East Hill to join head coach Dayna Smith's staff for the upcoming 2010-11 season. Gregg brings two years of coaching experience, as well as an unparalleled passion for Cornell, with her to her new position. Gregg comes to Cornell following two very successful seasons with the Lehigh women's basketball program, where she served as a graduate assistant. During her time in Bethlehem, the Mountain Hawks won back-to-back Patriot League championships, advanced to two straight NCAA tournaments, and set a new school and Patriot League record for wins (29) during the 2009-10 season. As a player at Cornell, Gregg capped a successful career by helping the Big Red to its first-ever Ivy League Championship and the program's first berth to the NCAA Tournament.

HI, MY NAME IS – Cornell had a new face on the bench for the 2010-11 season, as Ryan Woerner joined the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach. Despite having just graduated from nearby Ithaca College this past May, Woerner brings with him significant coaching experience. In addition to interning with the Cornell men's program last spring, he has served as an assistant coach at Xavier high school, as well as coaching at the Boston College Elite Camp and the West Point Basketball Camp. He was also a coach for the Five Star Basketball Camp and The Hoop Group. Additionally, Woerner served as the assistant basketball camp director at Molloy College.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY – Two members of the Big Red earned All-Ivy honors following the 2009-10 season, highlighted by Lauren Benson's second-team selection. Joining Benson was All-Rookie team pick Claire Fitzpatrick.

REVIEWING THE 2009-10 SEASON – Cornell wrapped up the 2009-10 season with a 7-20 record overall and a mark of 2-12 in the Ivy League, good for seventh in the conference.

UP NEXT – The Big Red will enjoy another small break for the holidays before returning to action at Bucknell on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 4:30 p.m.