Game Information
Princeton at Cornell
Tip Off: Friday, Feb. 1, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (10-6, 2-0 Ivy); Princeton (10-5, 1-0 Ivy)
Series Record: Princeton leads, 44-20
Last Meeting: Princeton won, 75-39 (Feb. 18, 2012; Newman Arena)
Live Stats: www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Audio: www.rlmsports.net
Video Webcast: www.CornellBigRed.com

Penn at Cornell
Tip Off: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (10-6, 2-0 Ivy); Penn (7-8, 0-1 Ivy)
Series Record: Penn leads, 48-19
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 45-42 (Feb. 17, 2012; Newman Arena)
Live Stats: www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Audio: www.rlmsports.net
Video Webcast: www.CornellBigRed.com

Game Notes (PDF)

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team (10-6, 2-0 Ivy) will look to get an early jump in the race for the Ivy League title as it welcomes Princeton (10-5, 1-0 Ivy) and Penn (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) to Newman Arena on Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2, respectively. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m. Cornell and the Tigers enter the weekend tied for first place in the Ivy League standings as the only two teams remaining undefeated in conference play.

ABOUT PRINCETON: The Tigers are currently riding a three-game winning streak, but have not been active since their 77-47 win over Penn on Jan. 12. Winners of the last three Ivy League championships, Princeton has lost only one conference game since the beginning of the 2009-10 season. The Tigers are led by Niveen Rasheed, who ranks second overall in the Ivy League in both points per game (16.4 ppg.) and rebounds per game (8.9 rpg.). Kristen Helmstetter ranks second on the team in both points (8.9 ppg.) and rebounds per game (4.9 rpg.). As a team, Princeton has a powerful offense, averaging 69.9 points per game and shooting 42 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers also hold a +9.9 margin in rebounds, average 10.1 steals per game, and take care of the ball with just 15.2 turnovers per contest.

THE SERIES VS. THE TIGERS: The Cornell and Princeton series has been one of the more competitive Ivy League matchups in recent years, with the Tigers holding the slim 14-10 lead since the 2000-01 season. The series began in 1974-75 with a 51-33 Princeton victory, but the teams wouldn't meet again until the 1979-80 season. The schools have met every year since 1979-80, and the Tigers hold the edge in the all-time series, 44-20. Coach Dayna Smith is 7-15 vs. Princeton.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON (Jan. 19, 2013 ~ Ithaca, N.Y.):
• 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 at Newman Arena.
• Cornell jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Tigers broke the game open with 22 consecutive points while holding the home team scoreless for 9:31. The Big Red wasn't able to get within single digits the rest of the way.
• 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.
• Cornell was able to hit just 32 percent of its field goals in the loss.
• Ten different Big Red players scored with Taylor Flynn leading the way with nine points. She added four rebounds in the contest to lead the team in both categories.
• Allyson DiMagno had four points and four steals.
• Three different Princeton players reached double figures, with Niveen Rasheed pacing the way with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
• Devona Allgood added 13 points and nine rebounds and Lauren Edwards scored 10 points.
• The Tigers assisted on 21 of its 32 field goals in the victory.

ABOUT PENN: The Quakers enter their game with Columbia on Friday night riding a three-game losing streak, which began with a 77-47 loss in their Ivy League opener at Princeton on Jan. 12. Alyssa Baron (15.1) is the only Penn player scoring more than 10 points per game, while Kara Bonenberger and Keiera Ray are both averaging 8.7 points per contest. Baron also leads the Quakers with 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

THE SERIES VS. THE QUAKERS: Cornell's rivalry with Penn began during the 1974-75 season and the two teams have met every year since, excluding the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons. The Quakers hold the all-time series record, 48-19, but the Big Red has won 10 of the last 14 meetings. Coach Smith, who served as an assistant coach for Penn from 1999-2002, holds a 10-10 record vs. her old squad.

LAST TIME VS. PENN (Feb. 17, 2012; Newman Arena):
• The Cornell defense limited Penn to 22 percent shooting and held off a late Quaker rally to earn the season sweep with a 45-42 victory at Newman Arena.
• Cornell's defense was stingy all night, and it had to be to overcome 24 turnovers.
• The Big Red limited the Quakers to 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 3-point range before Alyssa Baron hit one with 8:18 to play. The Quakers ended the contest by hitting four of its final five treys in making its comeback.
• Cornell nearly gave away a 13-point lead midway through the second half as Penn was able to tie the game at 42-42 on a 3-pointer by Kathleen Roche with just over three minutes to play.
• A Spencer Lane free throw with 1:10 left, followed by Allyson DiMagno's pair of charity shots with 12 seconds to play sealed the game and the Quakers were never able to get a game-tying attempt shot off.
• Maka Anyanwu led the Big Red with 12 points, while DiMagno had 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the win.
• Clare Fitzpatrick had a Cornell-high 12 rebounds.
• Baron led the way for Penn with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. The rest of the team connected on just 8-of-51 shots (16 percent).
• Kara Bonenberger recorded 11 rebounds for the Quakers, including nine on the offensive glass.

A LEGEND IN THE MAKING: The Atlantic 10 Conference recently announced its Inaugural Women's Basketball Legends list and Cornell head coach Dayna Smith has been selected to represent her alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. Smith was one of the top point guards in Atlantic 10 history while starring for Rhode Island from 1992-96. One of just 11 players at the NCAA Division I level to record more than 1,000 points and 750 assists, Smith was a key component of the Rams' run to the 1996 NCAA Tournament. The Women's Basketball Legends will be honored on March 16 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the morning of the 2013 A-10 Women's Basketball Championship finals. Each honoree will be recognized during an awards brunch in the 40/40 Club, beginning at 11 a.m.

THRICE AS NICE: Three times this season, Allyson DiMagno has been named the Ivy League co-Player of the Week (Dec. 3, Jan. 21, and Jan. 28). The three weekly honors in a single season ties the school record and DiMagno becomes the first Cornell women's basketball player to accomplish that feat since Jeomi Maduka won the award three times during the 2007-08 season.

22 BOARDS: Junior Allyson DiMagno registered a career- and team-season high 22 rebounds at Columbia on Jan. 26. The 22 rebound effort is the fifth-best single-game performance in the NCAA this season and ranks fourth all-time in Cornell history, matching Patti Froehlich (vs. St. Francis (Pa.) on Jan. 9, 1989) and Rhonda Anderson's (vs. Oneonta State on Dec. 2, 1980) 22-rebound efforts.

STREAKING: Cornell enters the weekend riding a four-game winning streak, while posting six consecutive victories at Newman Arena. Those streaks are the longest since the Big Red won eight consecutive games during the 2007-08 season, and posted 10-straight victories at Newman Arena over the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

SEASON SWEEP: With its double overtime victory at Columbia on Jan. 26, the Big Red posted back-to-back season sweeps against the Lions for the first time since 2005-06, 2006-07.

FIFTY IS FINE: Junior Allyson DiMagno set a school record for minutes played in a contest when she played all 50 minutes during Cornell's double overtime game at Columbia on Jan. 26. The previous record had been held by Do Stevens, who played 46 minutes of a double overtime game vs. Harvard on Feb. 22, 2002.

DOUBLE OT: When Cornell's game at Columbia went into double overtime, it became just the third double-overtime game in Cornell women's basketball history (1979-80 vs. Colgate; 2001-02 vs. Harvard).The Big Red lost both previous games by the identical score of 77-75.

NUMBER ONE STARTER: Last weekend at Columbia, senior Clare Fitzpatrick matched the school record for games started in a career, tying Lauren Benson (97 starts from 2006-10). Fitzpatrick needs just one more start to take sole custody of the top spot.

TOP TEN ASSISTS: With her seven assists vs. Daemen College (N.Y.) on Jan. 13, Spencer Lane jumped into the top 10 in Cornell history for career assists. She currently has 233 assists and needs 12 more to surpass Mary LaMacchia (1992-96), who sits in ninth place.

TOP TEN BOARDS: Allyson DiMagno and Clare Fitzpatrick have both moved into Cornell's top 10 for career rebounds. DiMagno made the jump after pulling down 15 against Columbia on Jan. 19 and Fitzpatrick did it with seven boards the very next weekend at Columbia on Jan. 26. DiMagno currently sits in eighth place with 565 and needs 26 more to surpass Keri Farley (1991-95). Fitzpatrick is 10th overall with 549 and needs 17 more to surpass Jeomi Maduka (2005-08).

MORE MILESTONES: Several Big Red players are on the verge of jumping into the top 10 in various Cornell career statistical categories. To move into the top 10, Clare Fitzpatrick needs just 39 more points, one more field goals, and 89 more minutes. Taylor Flynn needs just two more 3-pointers to crack the top 10, while Kristina Danielak needs just two more blocked shots.

SURE SHOTS: Allyson DiMagno and Clare Fitzpatrick rank third and fourth, respectively in the Ivy League in field goal percentage, helping the Big Red to a .403 shooting percentage on the season.

BEST BOARDS: As of the national rankings on Jan. 13, Allyson DiMagno led the Ivy League and ranked eighth in the nation in rebounds per game (11.9).

IVY LEADERS: In addition to Allyson DiMagno leading the Ivy League in rebounding (11.9 rpg.), several Big Red players are ranked among the top 10 in various categories in the Ivy League, including:
*Allyson DiMagno – fifth in scoring (13.9 points per game)
*Clare Fitzpatrick – seventh in scoring (13.0 points per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in field goal percentage (.478)
*Clare Fitzpatrick – fourth in field goal percentage (.474)
* Spencer Lane – first in assists (4.0 assists per game)
* Stephanie Long – ninth in assists (2.4 assists per game)
* Clare Fitzpatrick – ninth in assists (2.4 assists per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in free throw percentage (.831)
*Clare Fitzpatrick – sixth in free throw percentage (.780)
*Allyson DiMagno – fifth in steals (1.8 steals per game)
* Spencer Lane – seventh in steals (1.8 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – sixth in 3-point field goals made (1.6 per game)
* Clare Fitzpatrick – ninth in blocked shots (0.7 blocks per game)
* Spencer Lane – first in assist/turnover ratio (1.4 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in offensive rebounds (4.1per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in defensive rebounds (7.9 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in minutes played (35.7 per game)
* Shelby Lyman – sixth in minutes played (31.4 per game)
* Spencer Lane – seventh in minutes played (31.0 per game)

IVY OPENERS: Since Ivy League round robin play began in the 1982-83 season, Cornell has posted a 16-15 record in conference openers. The Big Red snapped a four-game losing streak in Ivy openers when it defeated Columbia, 68-54, earlier this season, making Coach Dayna Smith's record 5-6 in the first game of Ancient Eight play. Cornell has faced the Lions more than any other team, opening the season against Columbia 15 times.

HITTING 1,000/500: With her 15 points vs. Buffalo on Jan. 5, senior Clare Fitzpatrick became the 12th player in Cornell history to score 1,000 career points. She is also 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 hit the 500-rebound plateau with 12 boards against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 18. 

HELPING HAND: Cornell assisted on 24-of-30 shots vs. Daemen College. The 24 assists were the most in a game for the Big Red since recording 20 assists against Dartmouth on Jan. 28, 2011.

100 WINS AND COUNTING: Head Coach Dayna Smith is already the winningest coach in Cornell history, and she reached the 100-win mark for her career with the team's victory over Manhattan. She has since added to that and has 107 career coaching wins.

FIRST ACTION: Freshman Jen Wahleithner became the first member of the rookie class to see action this season, playing one minute in the Big Red's first game at Colgate. Since then, both other members of the class of 2016 – Allison Bockrath and Molly Meriggioli – have seen the court for the Big Red, with Bockrath getting her first playing action vs. Syracuse, while Meriggioli saw her first minutes vs. Buffalo. 

CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 28-of-71 games (39%) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 15-13 record.

BLOCKS A LOT: Senior Clare Fitzpatrick currently sits in ninth place in Cornell history for career blocks (59), having surpassed classmate Kristina Danielak, who is now sitting in 11th place with 52 blocks.

I'LL TAKE THAT: So far this season, Cornell has averaged 8.9 steals per game, up slightly from last year when the Big Red averaged 8.4 steals per game. Last season's total was the best team average since the 2001-02 team finished the year with 11.0 steals per game.

MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 239-of-341 baskets (70%), which is up significantly from last year when Cornell had assists on 366-of-576 baskets (64%).

STARTING STREAK: Junior Allyson DiMagno has a 67-game starting streak, which is by far the longest current active streak on the team. Senior Spencer Lane's 46-game streak ranks second.

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: So far this season, Cornell has held 11 of its 16 opponents to below 40 percent shooting from the floor. The Big Red closed the 2011-12 season by holding its opponents to 40 percent or below from the floor in 12 of its final 18 games.

100 THREES: For the past five seasons, Cornell has hit at least 100 3-pointers as a team, and is on pace to extend that streak this year. With an average of 4.9 3-pointers made per game, the Big Red should reach 136 by season's end. Cornell 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.

STUDYING THE OPPONENTS: Since the 1980-81 season, the Big Red is 12-20 coming out of Cornell's two-week study break. However, Coach Smith's teams have fared much better, posting a record of 7-4 in the first game back from exams … This season, the Big Red was edged by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 52-49 in its first game following the break.

FOR OPENERS: The Big Red is 18-24 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith improved her record to 2-9 in season openers after defeating Colgate, 69-65 on Nov. 11, 2012. It was the first season-opening victory since the 2004-05 campaign.

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.

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

HOME SWEET HOME: The games against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the University of Texas served as a home coming for Lone Star State natives Kristina Danielak (Georgetown, Texas) and Aspen Chandler (Dallas, Texas).

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Junior 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.

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.

TICKLE THE (ALL) IVY: Clare Fitzpatrick and 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.). She also ranked 10th in the Ivy in assists and seventh in steals 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.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red added 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.

UP NEXT: Cornell will play its first full Ivy League road weekend as it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8, respectively. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.