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GAME INFORMATION
Game #7: Cornell vs. Buffalo
Tipoff: Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2014-15 Records: Cornell (3-3, 0-0 Ivy); Buffalo (3-3, 0-0 MAC)
Series Record: Buffalo leads, 9-6
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 79-72 (11/16/13; Buffalo, N.Y.)
 
Game #8: Cornell vs. Bryant
Tipoff: Thursday, Dec. 6, at 2:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2014-15 Records: Cornell (3-3, 0-0 Ivy)*; Bryant (5-1, 0-0 NEC)*
Series Record: Cornell leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 66-55 (11/29/08; Kingston, R.I.)
  *records prior to Dec. 5
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team will open December with a pair of home games, as it welcomes Buffalo and Bryant to Newman Arena. Cornell will face the Bulls on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. The Big Red and Buffalo will enter the game with identical records of 3-3, while Bryant takes a 5-1 record into a Wednesday's contest against Holy Cross.  

THE SERIES VS. BUFFALO: The Cornell women's basketball series with Buffalo began in the 1972-73 season, as the Big Red rattled off victories in each of the first three meetings (1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75), but since that time, the Bulls have taken a 9-6 lead. Cornell snapped a six-game losing streak to Buffalo during the 2012-13 season for its first victory over the Bulls since the 1992-93 campaign and extended its streak to two in a row with a victory last year.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLS: Buffalo snapped a two-game losing streak last weekend with a 68-60 victory over Illinois State, evening its record at 3-3 on the season. The Bulls have four players averaging double-digit points, led by Alexus Malone (13.2), who is also the team's leading rebounder with 11.0 rebounds per game. Mackenzie Loesing and Kristen Sharkey are both chipping in 12.7 points per game, while Camera Miley rounds out the quartet at an even 10.0 points per game. Loesing is the team's top 3-point threat, shooting .268 from beyond the arc (11-41), while Sharkey is an aggressive presence on defense with 3.2 steals per game.
 
LAST TIME VS. BUFFALO: The Big Red found itself in an early 10-0 hole, but battled back to earn a hard-fought 79-72 decision over Buffalo on Nov. 16, 2013 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. Senior Allyson DiMagno led the Big Red with 16 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Allison Bockrath tallied a career-high 13 points, thanks to a 3-of-5 performance from 3-point range. Freshman Kerri Moran was the only other Big Red player in double-figures with 11 points but freshman Nia Marshall and senior Aspen Chandler tallied nine points each. Marshall also matched DiMagno for a team-high six rebounds. Freshman Megan LeDuc handed out a career-high eight assists. Buffalo was led by Kristen Sharkey (25 points, 14 rebounds) and Mackenzie Loesing (20 points, 10 rebounds) who each posted double-doubles for the home team and helped the Bulls to a 57-44 advantage on the boards. Despite similar shooting numbers from the field, with Buffalo hitting 38 percent and the Big Red connecting on 37 percent, the visitors held a significant edge from beyond the arc, connecting on 50 percent (9-of-18), while the Bulls shot just 15.4 percent (4-of-26). Cornell also got to the foul line and converted 30-of-43 attempts, while Buffalo made just 14-of-22 tries.
 
CORNELL VS. MID-ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Cornell is 65-13 all-time vs. the current members of the MAC. The Big Red holds a losing record vs. Buffalo (6-9), Bowling Green (0-1) and Eastern Michigan (0-3), but has never faced Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo or Western Michigan … Head Coach Dayna Smith is 2-5 against the MAC with both wins coming against Buffalo.
 
THE SERIES VS. BRYANT: Cornell and Bryant have met just once, with the Big Red earning the 66-55 victory at the 2008 URI Classic in Kingston, R.I.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Bryant takes a 5-1 record into its contest with Holy Cross on Wednesday, Dec. 3, with its only loss coming to Boston College. The Bulldogs are led by senior guard Jenniqua Bailey's 18.0 points and 5.7 assists per game. Junior forward Breanna Rucker is averaging a double-double (16.3 points/10.7 rebounds per game), while junior guard Tiersa Winder is averaging 15.2 points per game as the team's top 3-point threat (16-50; .320 percent).
 
LAST TIME VS. BRYANT: The Big Red closed the URI Classic with a 66-55 victory over Bryant on Nov. 29, 2008 at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. The Big Red used a 19-7 scoring run over the closing moments of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half to erase an early deficit and go onto the victory. Cornell was led by junior Lauren Benson, who was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring a career-high with 19 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Junior Allie Fedorowicz chipped in 17 points, while senior Shannan Scarselletta added 15 points and sophomore Susie Doyle grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Bryant was led by Kelsey O'Keefe and Cara Johnson with 11 points apiece. The Big Red shot 39.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, while holding the Bulldogs to 33.9 percent overall and 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. Despite the Big Red's height disadvantage, Cornell held the slight edge in rebounds, 39-35, and forced 21 Bryant turnovers.
 
CORNELL VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: Cornell is 22-8 all-time vs. the current members of the Northeast Athletic Conference. The Big Red is tied in the all-time series with Central Connecticut State (1-1), but holds a winning record vs. every other member, including Bryant (1-0), Farleigh Dickenson (2-0), Long Island (3-1), Mt. St. Mary (1-0), Robert Morris (2-1), Sacred Heart (1-0), St. Francis (N.Y.) (6-2), St. Francis (Pa.) (3-2) and Wagner (2-1) ... Coach Smith is 8-5 all-time vs. the NEC.
 
TIGHT LOSSES: All three of the Big Red's losses this season have come by nine or few points.
 
TOUGH D: Cornell has held three of its six opponents this season to less than 50 points, a feat it accomplished just three times all of last season.
 
SMARTY PANTS: Cornell led all Ivy League teams and ranked 20th nationally when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its Academic Top 25 for the 2013-14 season. Head coach Dayna Smith's team posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.420 in 2013-14. Cornell was one of three Ivy League schools in the rankings, joining Yale (23rd, 3.397) and Brown (24^th, 3.394). The University of Missouri-Kansas City led the way with a 3.628 grade point average.
 
STARTING STREAK: With the graduation of Allyson DiMagno, sophomore Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at just eight games. Both Marshall and Kerri Moran started every game in 2013-14, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
NEW STARTERS: In each of the first five games this season, the Big Red has started four players – Megan LeDuc, Christine Kline, Maddie Campbell and Nicholle Aston – that had yet to start a game for Cornell previously.
 
BIG MINUTES: Not only have Nicholle Aston, Christine Kline and Megan LeDuc earned the first starts of their collegiate careers this season, but the trio has each roughly tripled their playing time from a season ago. Kline has seen the greatest increase, going from 7.4 to 35.2 minutes per game, while Aston has gone from 11.3 to 31.7 minutes per game, and LeDuc has gone from 11.5 to 32.5 minutes per game. 
 
ON THE SMALL SIDE: Cornell's roster of 14 players is one of the smallest in the Ivy League, with only Dartmouth and Yale featuring fewer players at 13 apiece.
 
ON THE YOUNG SIDE: Of Cornell's 14 players, 11 are underclassmen with just two seniors and one junior. No other team in the Ivy League has fewer upperclassmen, with the next youngest group being Yale with one senior and four juniors. Only one other team in the Ancient Eight has 11 underclassmen, as Columbia is identical to the Big Red with five sophomores and six freshmen, but the Lions also feature the largest roster in the conference at 17 players, with four seniors and two juniors to balance the team out.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell held 32 of its 62 opponents (52 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 4-of-6 opponents (66.7 percent) so far this season.
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, Cornell has assisted on 86-of-127 baskets (67.7 percent).
 
RULE FOLLOWERS: As of Nov. 30, the Big Red ranked first in the Ivy League and 30th in the nation in fouls per game (15.5).
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: As of Nov. 30, Cornell ranks first in the Ivy League and 65^th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (0.99). The team is also first in the conference and 68^th in the nation in turnover margin (4.17), while ranking third in the league and 70^th in the country in turnovers per game (14.5).
 
DE-FENSE, DE-FENSE: As of Nov. 30, the Big Red ranked third in the Ivy League and 39^th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 55.2 points per game.
 
IVY LEADERS: As of Nov. 30, several Big Red players are ranked among the Ivy League leaders this season, including:
*Nia Marshall – 11th in scoring (12.7 ppg.)
*Nicholle Aston –18th in scoring (9.7 ppg.)
*Nicholle Aston – sixth in rebounding (7.7 rpg.)
*Nia Marshall – 12th in rebounding (6.8 rpg.)
*Nicholle Aston – second in field goal percentage (.531)
*Nia Marshall – 12th in field goal percentage (.405)
*Megan LeDuc – third in assists per game (4.2 apg.)
*Kerri Moran – seventh in assists per game (3.2 apg.)
*Christine Kline – seventh in assists per game (3.2 apg.)
*Nia Marshall – first in steals (2.2 spg.)
*Christine Kline – first in steals (2.2 spg.)
*Maddie Campbell – 12th in steals (1.7 spg.)
*Megan LeDuc – ninth in 3-point FGM (1.5 per game)
*Megan LeDuc – first in assist/turnover ratio (3.1)
*Christine Kline – third in assist/turnover ratio (1.9)
*Kerri Moran – seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.4)
*Nicholle Aston – sixth in offensive rebs. (2.5 per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in defensive rebs. (5.3 per game)
*Nicholle Aston – 10th in defensive rebs. (5.2 per game)
*Christine Kline – seventh in minutes played (35.2 per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in minutes played (33.3 per game)
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 42-of-117 games (36 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 21-21 record (.500).
 
FIRST MINUTES: So far this season, just one freshman – Christine Ehland – has seen playing time, seeing action against Hartford, Fairfield, Marshall and Bucknell.
 
I'LL TAKE THAT:
• So far this season, the Big Red is averaging 8.2 steals per game.
• In 2013-14, Cornell posted 253 steals (9.0 per game).
• A year ago, the Big Red finished the season ranked first in the Ivy League and 69th in the nation for steals per game.
• Last season, Cornell ranked second in the Ivy League and 69th in the nation in turnover margin (+2.29). 
 
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 on Nov. 20, 2012. She has since added to that and has 127 career coaching wins.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red will enjoy a 13-day study break before welcoming Robert Morris to Newman Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.