Game Notes (PDF)

GAME DETAILS
Cornell vs. Brown
Tip Off: Friday, Feb. 24, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Brown (15-9, 6-4 Ivy); Cornell (10-13, 4-5 Ivy)
Series Record: Brown leads, 46-19
Last Meeting: Brown, 60-49 (2/11/12)
Live Stats: CornellBigRed.com
Video Webcast: CornellBigRed.com

Cornell vs. Yale
Tip Off: Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Yale (15-9; 7-3 Ivy); Cornell (10-13, 4-5 Ivy)
Series Record: Yale leads, 44-22
Last Meeting: Yale, 86-73 (2/10/12)
Live Stats: CornellBigRed.com
Video Webcast: CornellBigRed.com

THE MATCHUP: The Cornell women's basketball team will attempt to climb the Ivy League standings when it plays host to Brown and Yale this weekend. The Bears will head to Newman Arena on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., while Yale visits on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The Big Red has already surpassed last season's overall win total and will be attempting to surpass last season's win total in Ivy League play. Live stats and live video will be available and links can be found at www.CornellBigRed.com.

THE SERIES VS. BROWN: Cornell's rivalry with the Bears began in the 1974-75 season when Brown defeated the Big Red, 34-30. The Bears dominated the series during the first 20 years, with Cornell winning only three times prior to the 1994-95 season. Since that year, the series has been far more competitive with Brown holding a slight 19-16 lead, though the Bears still holds the advantage in the all-time series with a record of 46-19. Cornell had a six-game winning streak against the Bears ended in 2009-10 and the Bears have won the last five outings.

SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown is off to a 15-9 start and enters the weekend with a 6-4 mark in Ivy League play. The Bears won six straight contests midseason, including a home-and-home sweep of Rhode Island and a victory over Providence. Sheila Dixon (13.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 2.3 spg.) and Hannah Passafuime (12.4 ppg., 5.0 rpg.) rank at the top of the scoring list, while the team's three other starters are all averaging better than nine points per game. The top five have started all 24 contests and play ironwoman basketball. The team's bench averages just 7.3 points per game, as 88 percent of the scoring comes from its five starters. Brown is holding opponents to 36 percent shooting overall and 28 percent from 3-point range while forcing 18.3 turnovers per contest. Brown head coach Jean Marie Burr, in her 24th season on the sidelines, won her 300th career game as a head coach earlier this season and has guided the program to three Ancient Eight titles.

THE SERIES VS. YALE: Cornell first faced the Bulldogs in the 1974-75 season, with Yale taking the 31-23 victory. Cornell has held the lead in the series since 2000 (leading 13-10), winning seven-straight from 2000 to 2003, and splitting the series in 2005-06 and 2006-07, before sweeping Yale from 2006-09. However, the Bulldogs have won the last five meetings to improve its lead in the all-time series history to 44-22.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Yale sports a 15-9 overall record and is second in the Ivy League standings with its 7-3 record heading into the weekend. The Bulldogs are led by Megan Vasquez (15.7 ppg.) and Janna Graf (10.6 ppg., 5.8 rpg.), along with Sarah Halejian (8.4 ppg.) and Michelle Cashen (8.2 ppg.). Yale is shooting 37 percent from the floorand surrendering 43 percent shooting, and the Bulldogs have been outrebounded by -4.7 per game. The Bulldogs' pressure defense forces nearly 21 turnovers per game. Four starters return from last season's WNIT team, Yale's first-ever postseason bid. Head coach Chris Gobrecht is in her seventh season with the Bulldogs and won her 500th career game earlier this season.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?:
• The Big Red split a home weekend, knocking off Penn (45-42) before dropping a contest to Ivy League unbeaten Princeton (75-39).
• The Cornell defense limited Penn to 22 percent shooting and held off a late Quaker rally.
• Cornell's defense was stingy all night, and it had to be to overcome 24 turnovers.
• The Big Red limited the Quakers tp 14 first half points on 18 percent shooting, including a dreadful 0-of-12 effort from beyond the arc. Penn missed its first 21 efforts from beyond the 3-point line before Alyssa Baron finally hit one with 8:18 left in the game.
• Maka Anyanwu led the Big Red with 12 points, while Allyson DiMagno had 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the win.
• The Big Red shot 58 percent in the second half but attempted just 12 total field goals while turning it over on 12 occasions.
• On Saturday, two-time defending Ivy League champion Princeton went on a 22-0 run early in the first half and cruised to a 75-39 victory over Cornell.
• Princeton shot 52 percent from the floor overall, made 8-of-17 from 3-point range (47 percent) and held a 43-25 rebounding advantage.
• Ten different Big Red players scored with Taylor Flynn leading the way with nine points.
• Three different Princeton players reached double figures for the Tigers, with Niveen Rasheed pacing the way with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

SENIOR CLASS: The Big Red will honor a pair of seniors, Maka Anyanwu and Allie Munson, prior to the contest against Columbia at Newman Arena on Tuesday, March 6. The duo will be playing its final full weekend series in Ivy play at home this weekend. Here is a glimpse at their careers for the Big Red
• Anyanwu, a two-year letter winner for the Big Red, transferred in from Umpqua Community College.  She has averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while playing in 50 contests with 26 starts heading into the weekend.
• Munson, the 2011-12 captain, ranks among the school's career leader in blocked shots with 42. She has played in 92 career games and has recorded 283 points 348 rebounds while starting 28 contests entering the weekend series.

BIG SHOT: Sophomore Allyson DiMagno hit the game-winning shot with three seconds to play against Fordham, handing the Big Red the 40-39 victory.

BIG BOARDS: Clare Fitzpatrick grabbed 15 rebounds against Fordham on Jan. 2, becoming the first Big Red player to pull down 15 boards since Jeomi Maduka did so against Binghamton on Jan. 7, 2008, a span of 107 games.

SMALL WIN: The Big Red defeated Fordham, 40-39, on Jan. 2. The 40 points are the lowest scored by Cornell in a victory under head coach Dayna Smith. The previous mark was set during a 41-36 victory over Brown on Feb. 24, 2007 … The last time the Big Red won a game despite scoring 40 or fewer points came in a 36-20 victory over Radcliff during the 1974-75 season.

BIG WINS: So far this season, the Big Red has defeated three opponents – Cleveland State, Bucknell and Ithaca – by 20 points. The last time Cornell beat at least three opponents by 20 points came during the 2007-08 season when the Big Red won five games by at least 20 points.

PRESSURE FREE THROWS: Cornell is shooting 68.7 percent from the foul line for the season, but that number is helped dramatically by the fact that the Big Red is stronger from the charity stripe at the end of close games. In the final five minutes of games decided by 10 or fewer points, Cornell has hit 69.0 percent (20-of-29) from the foul line and 11-of-16 (68.8) in the final two minutes of games decided by 10 or fewer points.

CLOSE CALLS: The Big Red was in many close games during the 2010-11 season, with more than one-third of its contests being decided by eight points or less. In those games, Cornell posted a 5-5 record. So far this year the trend of close games has continued with the Big Red seeing 7-of-23 games decided by eight points or less and sporting a record of 4-3 in those games.

BLOCKS A LOT: With her block against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 27, senior Allie Munson moved into Cornell's all-time blocks leader list with 41 for her career. She has since slipped out as junior Kristina Danielak surpassed Munson with her two blocks at Columbia, while Clare Fitzpatrick is hovering just outside the top 10 with 43.

I'LL TAKE THAT: Last year, the Big Red averaged 6.3 steals per game. That was the best average since the 2007-08 team registered 6.8 steals per game. So far this season, Cornell is averaging an even more impressive 8.5 steals per game.

HELPING HAND: So far this season, Cornell has assists on 295-of-465 baskets (63.4 percent).

STARTING STREAK: Clare Fitzpatrick has started the last 64 games for the Big Red, dating back to Jan. 29, 2010. That is by far the longest current active streak on the team, with sophomore Allyson DiMagno's 46 straight starts ranking second.

IVY HONORS: After one of its most impressive wins of the season against Bucknell, a pair of Big Red players were honored with freshman Marissa Rakestraw earning Co-Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors by the conference office, while Clare Fitzpatrick was named the College Sports Madness Ivy Player of the Week.

STUDYING THE OPPONENTS: Since the 1980-81 season, the Big Red is 12-19 coming out of Cornell's two-week study break. However, Coach Smith's teams have fared much better, posting a record of 7-3 in the first game back from exams.

NOTING THE CLEVELAND STATE GAME: Cornell's 79-59 victory over Cleveland State was significant for the Big Red offense. It was the first time Cornell has scored at least 70 points since defeating Tennessee State on Nov. 21, 2009. It was also the first time the Big Red has shot 50 percent from the floor, or registered 50 points in a half since that game against Tennessee State. Finally, it was the first time Cornell defeated a team by 20 points since beating Ithaca College on Nov. 15, 2009. 

FITZPATRICK JOINS 700/400 CLUB: With her 19 points against Cleveland State, Clare Fitzpatrick surpassed the 600-point plateau for her career. In the game prior to that, against Eastern Michigan, the junior forward pulled down her 300th career rebound. She becomes the 26th player in Cornell history, and the 11th under Head Coach Dayna Smith, to record at least 600 points and 300 rebounds. Since then, Fitzpatrick has moved into the 700/400 club with her 794 points and 438 rebounds.

LYMAN STEAL STREAK: Shelby Lyman had registered a steal in each of the Big Red's first seven games of the season. That is the longest streak by any Cornell player since Lyman came up with at least one steal in seven consecutive games last year from Jan. 6 through Feb. 4. Prior to Lyman, Allie Fedorowicz '10 registered a steal in eight straight games from Dec. 29, 2009 to Feb. 5, 2010.

LAST POSSESSION: From Nov. 15 to Nov. 25, Cornell played in three games that came down to the final possession of the game, with the Big Red defeating Colgate (59-56) before falling to New Hampshire (62-63) and Eastern Michigan (52-54). The last time Cornell played three games in a row that were decided by the final possession was during the 1996-97 season when the Big Red lost to Brown (63-65) before closing out the season with victories against Penn (65-63) and Princeton (58-57).

DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK: Sophomore Allyson DiMagno registered double-digit points in the Big Red's first five games this season, extending her streak to seven games, dating back to the final two games of the 2010-11 season, before scoring just seven points in Cornell's victory over Cleveland State. Prior to DiMagno, Clare Fitzpatrick was the last Cornell player to score 10+ points in seven consecutive games, doing so during her rookie year in 2009-10.

SHARP SHOOTERS: The Big Red hit 46 percent from the floor (23-50) against New Hampshire, its best shooting percentage since last season when it connected on 48.9 percent against Longwood on Jan. 9, 2011. Cornell followed that up with a 53.7 performance (29-54) from the floor at Cleveland State, as well as a mark of 54.5 (6-11) from 3-point range against the Vikings. Cornell did those games even better at Penn, hitting 57.1 percent(24-42) from the floor in the 67-53 victory.

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Cornell's opponents have shot 40 percent or below from the floor in nine of the last 13 games and 14 times in 23 contests this season. Big Red opponents are shooting just 39 percent from the floor for the season, with 10 opponents hitting 35 percent or below.

HOME SWEET HOME: The game vs. Cleveland State was a homecoming for rookie Sarah Poland, who is a native of Valley View, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. She played seven minutes, blocked one shot and handed out one assist.

CAREER ASSISTS: A pair of Cornellians tallied a career-high in assists against New Hampshire with Spencer Lane handing out six helpers, while Allyson DiMagno registered five assists.  DiMagno bettered that mark with six assists at Columbia, while Lane had 10 assists in the win over Ithaca College.

MORE ASSISTS: Cornell has recorded double figures in team assists in 17 of the team's 23 games. Included was 10 games with at least 15 assists.

IVY OPENERS: Since Ivy League round robin play began in the 1982-83 season, Cornell has posted a 15-15 record in conference openers. The Big Red has lost its last three Ivy openers against Columbia and this year's to Princeton, making coach Dayna Smith's record 4-6 in the first game of Ancient Eight play. Cornell has faced the Lions more than any other team, opening the season against Columbia 14 times.

FIRST MINUTES: Freshman Sarah Poland has seen action in 14-of-23 games this season, averaging 6.9  minutes of action. Sarah Talamantes saw her first collegiate playing time at Cleveland State on Nov. 27, while Marissa Rackstraw and Tyler Kim both saw the first minutes of their careers vs. Bucknell. Freshman Christine Kline saw her first action against Princeton.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: All but four of Cornell's victories since the beginning of the 2010-11 season have come at Newman Arena.

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

FOR OPENERS: With its loss to William & Mary to start the season, the Big Red fell to 17-24 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith has posted a 1-9 record in season openers during her time with Cornell.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END: Sophomore Shelby Lyman saw her consecutive free throw streak come to an end in the season opener against William & Mary. Lyman hit all 14 of her free throw attempts last season but missed her first attempt against the Tribe to end the streak.

COACHING HISTORY: With the victory over Ithaca on Jan. 1, 2011, head coach Dayna Smith became the all-time winningest head coach in Cornell women's basketball history with her 81st career win. Smith surpassed Marnie Dacko (1995-2002) to take the record. She has since upped that total to 95 victories.

100 THREES: For the fourth straight season, Cornell reached the century mark for 3-pointers, with 121 during the 2010-11 campaign. 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. Cornell needs two treys this weekend to hit the 100 mark, entering the weekend with 98.

UMPQUA COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Junior college transfer Maka Anyanwu came to the Big Red last year 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.

BASKETBALL PEDIGREE: Sophomore Stephanie Long isn't the only member of her family to play collegiate basketball. Her father Dennis played basketball for three seasons at UConn.

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

HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has two new faces on the bench for the 2011-12 season, as Kharmen Wingard and Katie Schlein join the women's basketball staff as an assistant coaches. Wingard comes to East Hill after four seasons as the assistant men's basketball coach at nearby Cortland, while Schlein spent the past season working as the assistant director of women's basketball operations at the University of Denver.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY: Clare Fitzpatrick was named All-Ivy honorable mention following the 2010-11 season. She led Cornell and ranked 12th in the conference in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and was second overall on the team and 14th in the league in rebounding (5.2 rpg.). She also averaged 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game and finished with 17 blocks on the season. In 28 games, she scored in double-digits 20 times. She was the Big Red's leading scorer in 15 games and grabbed a team-high in rebounds in nine contests. Fitzpatrick was also the model of consistency as the only player on the team to start every game last season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red adds five players to the 2011-12 squad: Christine Kline (Staten Island, N.Y.), Tyler Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.), Sarah Poland (Valley View, Ohio), Marissa Rakestraw (Beaverton, Ore.) and Sarah Talamantes (Broomfield, Colo.). The class of five players comes from five different states and consists of two forwards and three guards.

UP NEXT: Cornell heads out on the road for the final time in 2011-12 when it visits Dartmouth (Friday, March 2) and Harvard (Saturday, March 3) with both games tipping off at 7 p.m.