Game #25: Cornell vs. Harvard
Tip Off: Friday, Feb. 28, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (13-11; 5-5 Ivy); Harvard (17-7; 7-3 Ivy)
Series Record: Harvard leads, 60-11
Last Meeting: Harvard won 84-69 (Feb. 15, 2014)
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wbball/
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

Game #26: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
Tip Off: Saturday, March 1, 2014; 6:00 p.m.
Location: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Records: Cornell (13-11; 5-5 Ivy); Dartmouth (4-20; 1-9 Ivy)
Series Record: Dartmouth leads, 53-16
Last Meeting: Cornell won 78-59 (Feb. 14, 2014)
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wbball/
Video Webcast: www.IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team (13-11, 5-5 Ivy) will look to send the five member Class of 2014 – Aspen Chandler, Joelle Davidson, Allyson DiMagno, Stephanie Long and Shelby Lyman – out with a bang as it plays host to Harvard (17-7; 7-3 Ivy) on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m., and Dartmouth (4-20; 1-9 Ivy) on Saturday, March 1 at 6 p.m.



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 60-11, 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 12 contests to Harvard, including an overtime heartbreaker last season in Cambridge.

LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: Senior Stephanie Long registered a season-high 17 points to lead four Big Red women's basketball players in double-figures, but it wasn't enough as Ivy League leader Harvard managed to pull away for the 84-69 victory at Lavietes Pavilion. Senior forward Allyson DiMagno posted her fourth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to finish the weekend in sixth place in Cornell history with 1,242 career points and just 47 rebounds shy of the school's career record. Freshman forward Nia Marshall chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and one steal, and junior guard Christine Kline tallied 11 points, three steals and two assists in just 16 minutes of action. Freshman guard Kerri Moran added nine points, eight assists, and four steals. Harvard was led by Jasmine Evans and Christine Clarke, who scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Temi Fagbenle (14) and Ali Curtis (10) finished in double-figures. Fagbenle also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds as the Crimson outrebounded Cornell, 43-33.Both teams shot the ball well, with the Crimson hitting 46 percent overall (29-63) and Cornell finishing at 40 percent (24-60) from the floor. Both teams knocked down 35 percent from 3-point range, with identical marks of 6-for-17. The Big Red harassed Harvard into 21 turnovers with 11 steals, but turned the ball over 18 times, allowing the Crimson to score 22 points off turnovers.

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, 53-16, 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 8-6 lead over the past 14 meetings, with five of those games being decided by four or fewer points. The Big Red enters the game having won the last three outings vs. Dartmouth, which is the longest winning streak in the series for Cornell.

LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: Cornell freshman forwards Nia Marshall and Nicholle Aston combined for 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting in the first half, and senior forward Allyson DiMagno registered 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half of play, to lead the Big Red to a 78-59 victory over Dartmouth at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. DiMagno, who played just nine minutes in the first half of the contest, finished with her third consecutive double-double with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and two steals. Marshall finished the contest with 14 points, going 7-for-7 from the floor, and added seven rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Aston rounded out the Big Red's double-digit scorers with 12 points and six rebounds, while adding one blocked shot and one steal. The trio came one rebound shy of outrebounding the entire Big Green team, helping Cornell to a 34-25 advantage on the boards. Dartmouth was led by Lakin Roland's 17 points, while Fanni Szabo and Abbey Schmitt added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Schmitt also added a team-high eight rebounds, while Milica Toskovic grabbed seven.The visitors shot a blistering 55 percent overall (28-51) and 46 percent beyond the arc (5-11), while holding the Big Green to 44 percent overall (26-59) and just 22 percent (2-9) from 3-point range. The contest was a game of runs, with Cornell jumping out to several large leads only to see Dartmouth battle back. The Big Red finally managed to put the game away with a 9-0 scoring run with just over 13 minutes remaining in the contest.

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: The Big Red will graduate one of the most complete senior classes in Coach Smith's tenure, with three starters and two key reserves playing in their final games at Newman Arena this weekend.

Aspen Chandler
A solid contributor throughout her career on East Hill, Chandler has seen action 71 career games and as a senior is averaging a career high 11.6 minutes per contest. A player that provides a spark off the bench and is crucial to the Big Red's full-court press, she is having the best season of her career, matching and then setting new career scoring highs five times this year. She enters the weekend averaging a career-high 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest.

Joelle Davidson
After playing guard during her first two seasons at Cornell, Davidson moved to the forward position prior to her junior year and has seen that move pay dividends this year as she is having the best season of her career with the Big Red, seeing action in 11 games and playing a career-high 6.9 minutes per contest. She was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Jan. 27 after registering career-highs in points (17), rebounds (14), and minutes played (24) in Cornell's victory over Columbia on Jan. 25. With her selection, Davidson became the first Big Red women's basketball player other than Allyson DiMagno to be named Ivy League Player of the Week since Lauren Benson on Feb. 2, 2009.

Allyson DiMagno
One of the hardest working players to ever wear a Cornell uniform, DiMagno will leave East Hill ranked in the top 20 of 18 different statistical categories, including a top five ranking in scoring (fourth), rebounds (second), offensive rebounds (first), defensive rebounds (first), free throws made (fifth), free throw percentage (third), minutes played (second), games started (third), and games played (fourth). She is the only player in Cornell history to reach 1,200 career points and 800 career rebounds and enters the weekend needing just three rebounds to become just the 12th Ivy League women's basketball player to register at least 1,200 points and 900 rebounds. She owns the school record for rebounds in a single season and is just 35 rebounds shy of the Cornell career record. Along with classmate Stephanie Long, she is also on pace to set the school record for games played. A two-time All-Ivy selection and a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team selection, she is a six-time Ivy League Player of the Week selection.

Stephanie Long
A three-year starter with the versatility to play both point or shooting guard, Long is a determined player that has provided the Big Red with some big offensive games over the years. Despite not serving as the team's primary point guard, she enters the weekend ranking in 11th overall in Cornell history with 244 career assists and needs just nine more to move into the top 10 all-time. She also ranks among the best Big Red all time in 3-point field goals made (15th), free throw percentage (7th), minutes played (18th), games played (14th) and games started (15th). Along with DiMagno, she is on pace to set the school record for games played.

Shelby Lyman
Lyman's collegiate career started with a bang, as she became the only freshman in Coach Smith's tenure to play a full 40 minutes in a season opener, and she has gone on to start 105-of-107 contests for the Big Red. A pure shooter with the ability to put up big numbers on any given night, she has reached double-figures in 30 games during her career, including a pair of 20-point performances this season. She is on pace to set the school record for games started and enters the weekend ranked third overall in 3-point field goals made. Lyman also ranks in the top-15 in school history for assists (14th), steals (14th), minutes played (11th) and games played (8th).

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ELITE COMPANY: Allyson DiMagno enters the weekend needing just three rebounds to become just the 12th Ivy League women's basketball player to register at least 1,200 points and 900 rebounds.

THE ONE AND ONLY: 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.

MOVING ON UP: Allyson DiMagno currently ranks fourth overall in Cornell history for career points (1,272) and needs 55 more to move into third place overall, surpassing Do Stevens (1998-2002).

TOP REBOUNDER: Allyson DiMagno currently ranks second overall in Cornell history for career rebounds (897) and needs 35 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 (563), career offensive rebounds (334), and rebounds in a single season (321 in 2012-13).

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 (18th – 83.2 percent) and rebounds (25th – 897).

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 28th in the nation in fouls per game (16.1).

I'LL TAKE THAT:
• Cornell has posted 211 steals (8.8 per game) so far this season, which is up from last year when the Big Red registered 8.1 steals per game.
• Cornell entered the week ranked first in the Ivy League and 86th in the nation for steals per game.
• Cornell ranks second in the Ivy League and 67th in the nation in turnover margin (+2.42).
• The Big 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 (.841) ranks first in the Ivy League and 57th in the nation in free throw percentage. As a team, the Big Red makes free throws at a clip of 70 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.

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 11 minutes per game and as a group, they are shooting 43 percent (225-of-529) from the floor. The quartet is also contributing an average of 25.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3.6 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 – seventh in scoring (13.8 points per game)
*Nia Marshall – ninth in scoring (13.0 points per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – second in rebounding (8.4 rebounds per game)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in rebounding (5.8 rebounds per game)
*Nia Marshall – second in field goal percentage (.513)
*Allyson DiMagno – fifth in field goal percentage (.500)
*Kerri Moran – fourth in assist per game (3.3)
*Stephanie Long – eighth in assist per game (2.6)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in free throw percentage (.841)
*Nia Marshall – third in steals (1.8 steals per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – fourth in steals (1.7 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – ninth in steals (1.3 steals per game)
*Shelby Lyman – seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.368)
*Shelby Lyman – sixth in 3-point field goals made (1.6 per game)
*Nia Marshall – fourth in blocked shots (1.1 blocks per game)
*Kerri Moran – sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1)
*Allyson DiMagno – first in offensive rebounds (3.2 per game)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in offensive rebounds (1.9 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – third in defensive rebounds (5.2 per game)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in defensive rebounds (3.9 per game)
*Allyson DiMagno – fourth in minutes played (33.1 per game)

MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, the Big Red has assisted on 365-of-533 baskets (68.5 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 103-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 24 games apiece. Both Long and Lyman had a starting streak ended in the final game last season.

100 THREES: With its six 3-pointers at Brown on Feb. 22, the Big Red reached the 100 3-pointers mark for the seventh consecutive season. … 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.

CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 37-of-103 games (36 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 20-18 record (.526).

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell held 27 of its 52 opponents (50 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 123 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 play its final games when it travels to Princeton and Penn on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, respectively. The game with the Tigers will tip-off at 7 p.m., while the game with the Quakers will begin at 8 p.m.