Game Information
Cornell at Colgate
Tip Off: Friday, Nov. 9, 2012; 6:00 p.m.
Location: Cotterell Court (Hamilton, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Colgate (0-0, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 17-15
Last Meeting: Cornell won 59-56 (11/15/11)
Live Stats: GoColgateRaiders.com
Video Webcast: None

Cornell vs. Fordham
Tip Off: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2011; 1:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Fordham (0-0, 0-0 A10)*
Series Record: Series Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Cornell won 40-39 (1/2/12)
Live Stats: CornellBigRed.com
Video Webcast: CornellBigRed.com

* Records prior to contests played on Friday, Nov. 9

Game Notes (PDF)

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team opens its 42nd season of play this weekend when it travels to Colgate on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m., before playing its home opener two days later against Fordham at Newman Arena on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. The game on Friday will also be the Raiders' season opener, while Sunday's contest will be the second game for the Rams, who also open their season on Friday at Albany.

THE SERIES VS. COLGATE: Cornell has won five of the last six games against the Raiders to take the slim lead in the all-time series, 17-15. The series began during the 1978-79 season, a 65-60 overtime victory for the Big Red, but Colgate won 10 of the first 14 meetings overall before Cornell won five straight from 1992-93 to 1996-97. Since the 1992-93 season, the Big Red has gone 13-5 against Colgate and head coach Dayna Smith is 5-3 all-time against the Raiders.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: Colgate was selected to finish seventh overall in the 2012-13 Patriot League Preseason Poll after finishing last season with a record of 8-22 overall and 5-9 in the conference. The Raiders started last season slow under new head coach Nicci Hays Fort, but they recovered during league play, including going 5-2 at home against league foes. Jhazmine Lynch (13.5 ppg), the 2009-10 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, leads the Raiders into her senior season, but there is a trio of sophomores ready to step up in Mariah Jones (6.9 ppg), Missy Repoli (6.2 ppg) and Kelly Reid (4.1 ppg).

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell is 38-52 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League. The Big Red owns the advantage in the series with Lafayette (8-7) and Colgate (17-15) but holds a losing mark against American (1-2), Army (5-6), Bucknell (5-16), Lehigh (2-4) and Navy (0-2). Holy Cross is the only member of the Patriot League that Cornell has never faced in women's basketball ... Coach Smith's record vs. the conference stands at 13-13 after defeating Colgate and Bucknell last season.

A CORNELL WIN WOULD:
• improve the Big Red to 18-15 in the all-time series with Colgate.
• be the second in a row over the Raiders.
• give Cornell its sixth win in seven tries against Colgate.
• improve head coach Dayna Smith to 6-3 against the Raiders

THE SERIES VS. FORDHAM: The series with the Rams is tied at 1-1 after the Big Red earned a hard-fought 40-39 victory last season. Fordham won the first-ever meeting between the two programs, 68-58, in 1987.

SCOUTING THE RAMS: Fordham, which is led by second-year head coach Stephanie Gaitley, was tabbed to finish 11th in the 2012-13 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Rams return four starters from last year's 12-18 squad (3-11 A10), led by senior guard Arielle Collins, who led the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), assists (99), steals (57), and minutes per game (38.3 mpg). Collins is joined by returning starters Abigail Corning, Charlotte Stoddart and Christina Gaskin. Last year Corning was third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 ppg along with 5.2 rpg, while Stoddart was fourth, averaging 7.5 ppg, and she led the Rams with 6.4 rpg. Gaskin averaged 5.1 ppg and 3.9 rpg, leading the squad with 33 blocks.

CORNELL VS. THE ATLANTIC 10: Cornell is 7-14 all-time vs. the current members of the A-10. Six of the seven victories have come vs. St. Bonaventure (6-5). The Big Red is tied with Fordham (1-1) but holds a losing record vs. Dayton (0-1), Duquesne (0-4), UMass (0-1) and Richmond (0-1), while having never faced Charlotte, George Washington, La Salle, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis or Xavier ... Coach Smith, who played (1992-96) and served as interim head coach (1999) at A-10 member Rhode Island, is 1-9 against her former conference after defeating Fordham last season.

WHAT WAS LOST: The Big Red graduated two players from the 2011-12 squad – Maka Anyanwu and Allie Munson. A junior college transfer, Anyanwu earned two varsity letters and finished her senior season with 211 points (7.8 ppg.) and 118 rebounds (4.4 rpg.). Munson was a four-year letter winner for the Big Red and played in 93 career games (13.3 mpg.). She averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for her career and ranks 12th all-time in Cornell history for career blocked shots (42). 

WHAT REMAINS: Cornell returns four starters and nine letter winners from last season's squad. The Big Red returns 84% of its scoring (1,298-of-1,554 points) and 83% of its rebounding (813-of-975) from a year ago.

FOR OPENERS: The Big Red is 17-24 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith has posted a 1-9 record in season openers during her time with Cornell, with the lone victory coming against Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 20, 2004.

HOME OPENER VICTORY: Cornell's 59-56 win over Colgate on Nov. 15, 2011 gave the Big Red a victory in its home opener for the first time since beating Albany, 50-46, on Nov. 19, 2008.

PRESEASON HONORS: Clare Fitzpatrick and Allyson DiMagno were both named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-Ivy team, with Fitzpatrick earning first-team honors and DiMagno snagging a place on the second-team.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red adds three players to the 2012-13 squad: Allison Bockrath (Dayton, Ohio), Molly Meriggioli (Waunakee, Wisc.) and Jen Wahleithner (Highlands Ranch, Colo). The class of three come from three different states and consists of two guards and one forward.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY: Forward Clare Fitzpatrick and guard Allyson DiMagno were each named honorable mention All-Ivy League following the 2011-12 season. Fitzpatrick ranked 12th in the Ancient Eight in scoring (10.8 ppg.) and was fourth in rebounding (6.9 rpg.). She also ranked third in the circuit in blocked shots and registered five double-doubles. Her basket with less than four seconds to play helped down Brown. DiMagno was 13th in scoring (10.7 ppg.) and second in rebounding (7.3 rpg.), leading all guards with her work on the backboards. She also ranked 10th in the Ivy in assists (10th) and steals (seventh) and was just outside the top 10 in blocked shots. Her basket with three seconds left pushed the Big Red over Fordham.

HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has a new face on the bench for the 2012-13 season, as Daan de Heus joins the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach. A native of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, de Heus played for the Dutch national youth basketball teams before going on to serve as an assistant coach for the Netherlands at the 2009 high school basketball world championships, held in Istanbul, Turkey. He was also the head basketball coach of a variety of youth and senior basketball teams at Almonte, from 2005-2011, wining two championships at the U16 and U18 level.

BLOCKS A LOT: Senior Kristina Danielak currently sits in 10th place in Cornell history for career blocks (49), while classmate Clare Fitzpatrick is hovering just outside the top 10 with 48 blocks.

I'LL TAKE THAT: Last year, the Big Red averaged 8.4 steals per game. That is the best team average since the 2001-02 team finished the year with 11.0 steals per game.

STARTING STREAK: Clare Fitzpatrick had her 68-game starting steak snapped in the final game last season when Allie Munson '12 got the start on Senior Day. As a result, junior Allyson DiMagno's 51-game starting streak is now the longest current active streak on the team.

RACE TO 1,000/500: Senior Clare Fitzpatrick is aiming to become the seventh player in Cornell history and second ever under head coach Dayna Smith to register at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for her career. She enters the season with 858 points and 476 rebounds.

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Last season, Cornell's opponents shot 40 percent or below from the floor in 12 of the final 18 games and 17 times in 28 contests on the year. Big Red opponents shot just 39 percent from the floor last year, with 12 opponents hitting 35 percent or below.

100 THREES: For the past five seasons, Cornell has hit at least 100 3-pointers as a team. The Big Red has registered at least 100 3-pointers in all but one season under head coach Dayna Smith, with the 2006-07 squad coming up just short with 98 treys.

UP NEXT: Cornell will have a busy week ahead, as it travels to Binghamton on Wednesday, Nov. 14, before playing host to Syracuse at Newman Arena on Friday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. The game against the Orange will be part of a double-header with the Cornell men's basketball team taking on Saint Peter's College at 8 p.m.