Game #21: Cornell at Dartmouth
Tip Off: Friday, Feb. 14, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Leede Arena (Hanover, N.H.)
Records: Cornell (11-9; 3-3 Ivy); Dartmouth (3-17; 0-6 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell Won; 60-48 (March 8, 2013)
Last Meeting: Dartmouth Leads, 54-15
Live Stats: DartmouthSports.com
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

Game #22: Cornell at Harvard
Tip Off: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014; 6:00 p.m.
Location: Lavietes Pavilion (Cambridge, Mass.)
Records: Cornell (11-9; 3-3 Ivy); Harvard (15-5; 5-1 Ivy)
Series Record: Harvard Leads, 59-11
Last Meeting: Harvard Won; 66-56 (March 9, 2013)
Live Stats: GoCrimson.com
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team (11-9, 3-3 Ivy) will wrap up the first half of Ivy League play this weekend when it travels to Dartmouth (3-17; 0-6 Ivy) on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., and Harvard (15-5; 5-1 Ivy) on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.

THE SERIES VS. DARTMOUTH: Cornell's rivalry with Dartmouth began in the 1976-77 season when the Big Red squeaked out a 50-49 victory, but the Big Green has dominated ever since. Dartmouth holds the advantage in the all-time series, 53-15, but had an 11-game winning streak ended during the 2007-08 season when the Big Red earned a 50-43 victory at Newman Arena. Since that time, the two teams have been fairly even, with Cornell holding the slight 7-6 lead over the past 13 meetings, with five of those games being decided by four or fewer points. The Big Red enters the game having won the last two outings vs. Dartmouth.

LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: The Big Red downed Dartmouth, 60-48, on March 8, 2013 in Newman Arena, giving Cornell just its second-ever season-sweep of the Big Green and its first in 29 years (1983-84). The Big Red, which moved ahead of Dartmouth in the Ivy League standings with the win, was led by Allyson DiMagno's 19-point, 12-rebound double-double, while senior Taylor Flynn came off the bench and poured in 18 points. Senior point guard Spencer Lane finished with eight points, eight assists, with no turnovers, and five rebounds. Dartmouth was led by Nicola Zimmer and Abbey Schmitt with 11 points apiece. Tia Dawson had a team-high seven rebounds, as five Big Green players finished with at least five rebounds to give the visitors the 42-34 advantage on the boards. Cornell had one of its best shooting nights in Ivy play, hitting 40 percent (21-52) from the floor and 33 percent (6-18) from beyond the arc. The visitors managed to connect on just 35 percent (21-60) overall and a mere 20 percent (3-15) from 3-point range. The Big Red also forced Dartmouth into 15 turnovers while the home team turned the ball over a season low seven times, the fewest turnovers by Cornell since committing just seven at Dartmouth on Feb. 19, 2011.

THE SERIES VS. HARVARD: The Big Red first played Harvard in the 1974-75 season with Cornell winning the contest, 36-20, but from there, the Crimson has controlled the series, leading the Big Red 59-11, including a perfect 33-0 in contests against Cornell played in Cambridge, Mass. The Big Red snapped a seven-game skid to the Crimson in the first meeting of the 2007-08 season with an 85-61 victory at Newman Arena, but have dropped the past 11 contests to Harvard, including an overtime heartbreaker last season in Cambridge.

LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: The Cornell senior class of Kristina Danielak, Taylor Flynn, Clare Fitzpatrick and Spencer Lane accounted for all but 17 of the Big Red's points on Senior Night in an inspired effort against Harvard, but they were not able to pull off the win, as Cornell fell to the Crimson, 66-56, at Newman Arena on March 8, 2013. Flynn led Cornell with 21 points, including back-to-back three-pointers with under a minute to play as the Big Red tried to mount a late comeback. With her two made treys, Flynn moved into ninth place all-time in Cornell history for career 3-pointers with 108. As she has done all season, Allyson DiMagno finished the game with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, her 16th of the year, to go along with five assists and five steals. Fitzpatrick and Lane both finished with eight points and two rebounds, with Lane adding four assists and two steals. Fitzpatrick's eight points moved her into seventh place all-time in Big Red history for points in a career (1,196). Danielak added two points, two rebounds and two blocked shots, which moved her into 10th place in Cornell history for blocked shots in a career (55). Harvard was led by Christine Clarke with 22 points. Temi Fagbenle had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Victoria Lippert finished with 13 points. Although the Crimson led wire-to-wire, the home team stayed in the contest throughout, thanks to some tough defense, forcing 16 Harvard turnovers with nine steals. The Big Red just couldn't find a groove offensively, shooting 30 percent from the floor and just 15 percent from 3-point range. Harvard used its significant height advantage to score 30 points in the paint, hitting 44 percent of its shots overall, despite a mark of 20 percent from beyond the arc.

1,200/800: With her 14 points vs. Princeton on Feb. 8, senior Allyson DiMagno became the only player in Cornell history to register at least 1,200 points and 800 rebounds for her career.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES
• Cornell has had three different players named Ivy League Player of the Week so far this year – Joelle Davidson Allyson DiMagno, and Nia Marshall. It is just the second time in the history of Cornell women's basketball that three different players were named Ivy League Player of the Week in the same season, matching Karen Force, Breean Walas and Do Stevens during the 2001-02 season.
• For the first time in the history of the Cornell women's basketball program a freshman was named the Ivy League Player of the Week when Nia Marshall earned both Player and Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 3.
• After having the best game of her career, senior Joelle Davidson was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Jan. 27, becoming the first Big Red women's basketball player other than Allyson DiMagno to win the award since Lauren Benson on Feb. 2, 2009.
• After setting the Cornell school record with four Ivy League Player of the Week selections a year ago, Allyson DiMagno has earned the award twice this season, moving to 12th all-time on the Ivy League's record list.

EVERYBODY'S (ACADEMIC) ALL-AMERICAN: Allyson DiMagno was named a 2013-14 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team selection, earning the honor for the third straight year. A biological sciences major with a 3.7 grade-point average, she is just the second Academic All-District selection in the history of the Big Red women's basketball program, joining Virginia McMunigal '10, who was a second-team selection during her senior season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK NOTES
• In total, Nia Marshall has been named Rookie of the Week five times (Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 3, Feb. 10) becoming the first Big Red player to earn five Rookie of the Week selections since Jeomi Maduka was chosen seven times during the 2005-06 season.
• Nia Marshall was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, becoming the first Cornell women's basketball player to receive back-to-back Rookie of the Weeks awards since Jeomi Maduka in 2005-06.
• Nia Marshall is the first Cornell player to receive two Rookie of the Week awards in a single season since Lauren Benson in 2006-07.

WINNING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: The Big Red finished the non-conference portion of its season with an 8-6 record for the second straight year, giving Cornell a winning non-conference record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999-2000/2000-01. It is just the third time in program history that the Big Red has had back-to-back winning non-conference records (1982-83/1983-84).

NCAA LEADER: Allyson DiMagno is among the NCAA's active career leaders in Division I for free throw percentage (12th – 83.3 percent) and rebounds (25th – 863).

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: With its 80-70 victory over Brown on Jan. 31 and its 81-46 victory over Vermont on Jan. 4, the Big Red has registered a pair of 80-point games for the first time since the 2009-10 season, when it racked up 81 points vs. Ithaca College on Nov. 15, 2009 and 92 points vs. Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 21, 2009.

RULE FOLLOWERS: The Big Red ranks second in the Ivy League and 17th in the nation in fouls per game (15.9).

I'LL TAKE THAT:
• Cornell has posted 184 steals (9.2 per game) so far this season, which is up significantly from last year when the Big Red registered 8.1 steals per game.
• Cornell entered the week ranked first in the Ivy League and 68th in the nation.
• Cornell ranks second in the Ivy League and 63rd in the nation in turnover margin (+2.50).
• The Bi g Red's 18 steals vs. Seattle were the most since the 2001-02 season, and the most ever during head coach Dayna Smith's time at the helm of the program.
• In Cornell's next game vs. Binghamton, the team finished with 16 steals, good for second overall during Coach Smith's tenure.

FREE THROW FIENDS: Allyson DiMagno (.845) ranks first in the Ivy League and 59th in the nation in free throw percentage. As a team, the Big Red makes free throws at a clip of 70.3 percent, ranking fourth in the Ivy League.

13TH TO 1,000: On Nov. 26 vs. Loyola (MD), senior Allyson DiMagno became the 13th player in Cornell history, and fourth under head coach Dayna Smith, to join the 1,000-point club … She currently ranks seventh overall in Cornell history for career points (1,208) and needs just seven more to move into sixth place overall, surpassing Kim Ruck (1994-98).

TOP REBOUNDER: Allyson DiMagno currently ranks second overall in Cornell history for career rebounds (863) and needs 69 more to surpass Patti Froehlich (1985-89) and become the Big Red's all-time leader … She already holds the school record for career defensive rebounds (546), career offensive rebounds (317), and rebounds in a single season (321).

FRESHMAN [FOUR]CE: With two starters and two others contributing significant minutes, four members of the freshman class – Kerri Moran, Nia Marshall, Nicholle Aston and Megan LeDuc – are already putting their stamp on the 2013-14 season. All four average more than 10 minutes per game and as a group, they are shooting 40 percent (178-of-441) from the floor. The quartet is also contributing an average of 24.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

IVY LEADERS: Several Big Red players are ranked among the top 10 in various categories in the Ivy League, including:
*Allyson DiMagno – eighth in scoring (13.4 points per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in scoring (12.7 points per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – second in rebounding (8.4 rebounds per game)
*Nia Marshall – seventh in rebounding (6.2 rebounds per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – fourth in field goal percentage (.503)
*Nia Marshall – seventh in field goal percentage (.482)
*Kerri Moran – sixth in assist per game (3.1)
*Stephanie Long – eighth in assist per game (2.8)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in free throw percentage (.845)
*Nia Marshall – third in steals (2.1 steals per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – fourth in steals (1.8 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – ninth in steals (1.4 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.367)
*Shelby Lyman – sixth in 3-point field goals made (1.7 per game)
*Nia Marshall – fourth in blocked shots (1.2 blocks per game)
*Kerri Moran – sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in offensive rebounds (3.0 per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in offensive rebounds (2.1 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – second in defensive rebounds (5.4 per game)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in defensive rebounds (4.1 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – fifth in minutes played (33.0 per game)

MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 300-of-432 baskets (69.4 percent). That is well above last season, as Cornell assisted on 66 percent of its baskets (378-of-573).

STARTING STREAK: Senior Allyson DiMagno has a 99-game starting streak, which is by far the longest active streak on the team, with four others – Stephanie Long, Shelby Lyman, Kerri Moran and Nia Marshall – tied for second at 20 games apiece. Both Long and Lyman had a starting streak ended in the final game last season.

100 THREES: The Big Red has connected on at least 100 3-pointers in each of the last six seasons and currently sits at 83 treys (4.2 per game) on the year. With eight games left to play, Cornell needs to make just 2.1 3-pointers per game to reach the mark again this year. 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.

CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 37-of-100 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 20-17 record (.541).

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell held 25 of its 48 opponents (53 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor.

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 121 career coaching wins.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Seattle University Delta Dental Thanksgiving Tournament served as a homecoming for senior guard Shelby Lyman, who hails from Snohomish, which sits approximately 45 miles from the Redhawk's campus.

FIRST NIGHT: Four members of the freshmen class saw action in the team's season-opening victory over Colgate. Kerri Moran and Nia Marshall earned the start, while both Megan LeDuc and Nicholle Aston saw significant action off the bench. The quartet played a total of 75 minutes and contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals, five blocks, and three assists. They also hit 53 percent of their shots from the field, 67 percent from beyond the arc and 75 percent from the free throw line ... The final member of the freshman class, Taylor DePalma, saw her first collegiate action a week later at Syracuse.

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

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

PRESEASON HONORS: Allyson DiMagno was named a College Sports Madness Preseason All-Ivy second-team selection.

HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has a new face on the bench for the 2013-14 season – volunteer assistant Jim Sheehan – who spent the past two seasons serving as a volunteer assistant to Cornell's video coordinator. Sheehan is a 2010 graduate of Cortland with a bachelor of science degree in sports management.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red has added five players to this year's squad, as Nicholle Aston (Woodland Hills, Calif.), Taylor DePalma (Ithaca, N.Y.), Megan LeDuc(Vienna, Va.), Nia Marshall (Macedonia, Ohio) and Kerri Moran (Fair Hills, N.J.) have joined the team for the 2013-14 season. The class of five comes from five different states and consists of three guards and two forwards.

2012-13 SEASON RECAP: The 2012-13 season was one of steady improvement and individual accomplishments as a four-member senior class and a talented junior made their way up the Big Red record books. Led by Allyson DiMagno, who earned second-team All-Ivy honors following the season, the team posted a 13-15 record overall and a mark of 5-9 in the Ivy League to finish fifth overall in the conference standings.

UP NEXT: The Big Red will open up the second half of Ivy League play next weekend when it heads to Yale and Brown on Friday Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22, respectively. The game with the Bulldogs will tip-off at 7 p.m., while the game with the Bears will begin at 6 p.m.