GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Cornell at Hartford
Tip off: Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Chase Arena (4,017), Hartford, Conn.
2015-16 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Hartford (0-0, 0-0 AE)
Series Record: Hartford leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Hartford won, 48-46 on Nov. 14, 2014 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Live Video: www.AmericaEast.tv
Live Stats: www.HartfordHawks.com
 
Game #2: Cornell at Bryant
Tip off: Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1:00 p.m.
Site: Chace Athletic Center (2,600), Smithfield, R.I.
* 2015-16 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Bryant (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 66-64 on Dec. 6, 2014 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Live Video: www.NECFrontRow.com
Live Stats: www.BryantBulldogs.com
 
* GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team opens its 45th season of play on Friday, Nov. 13 when it travels to Hartford for a contest at 7 p.m., before heading to Bryant on Sunday, Nov. 15 for a game at 1 p.m.
 
SERIES VS. HARTFORD: Cornell and the Hawks met for the first time last season, a game won by Hartford, 48-46, in the Big Red's season opener at Newman Arena. 
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (courtesy www.HartfordHawks.com): The University of Hartford women's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the America East, according to the 2015-16 preseason coaches' poll. Hartford, which was an America East finalist last season, returns 11 players, including captains Deanna Mayza and Christie Michals. A junior point guard, Mayza is coming off a stellar sophomore season that featured a program single-season record 170 assists. Overall, she averaged 11.0 points and 5.2 assists per game en route to earning America East All-Conference Second Team laurels. Michals, a senior forward, was sidelined for nine games with an ankle injury midway through her junior season. She did see time in 20 games, though, making starts in 12 of those contests. Michals scored a season-high eight points against Maine on Jan. 8 and pulled down a season-best seven rebounds at UMBC on Feb. 22. The Hawks' roster also features three newcomers – guard Lindsey Abed, guard/forward Kelly Douglass and forward Jalay Knowles.
 
LAST TIME VS. HARTFORD:  In the end, it all came down to the video review. With Cornell trailing Hartford 48-46 with three seconds to play, sophomore forward Nia Marshall grabbed her 13th rebound of the night off a Hartford missed free throw and outletted the ball to senior guard Christine Kline, who streaked up court before heaving up a desperation 3-pointer. The ball didn't make it to the rim, but a whistle blew and for a few moments, it seemed that the Big Red would have a chance to win it at the free throw line. Unfortunately for Cornell, the video replay showed that Kline, who is 17-for-22 all-time from the charity stripe, let go of the ball just after time expired and the Hawks escaped Newman Arena with the season-opening victory. In a game that featured nine ties and four lead changes, with the largest lead coming from Cornell when the home team went up 35-28 with 13:37 to go in the game, it seemed only fitting that the contest was decided in the final moments. Cornell was led by Marshall, who registered her fourth career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Nicholle Aston finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Hartford (1-0) was led by Deanna Mayza's 15 points and seven assists, while Cherelle Moore pulled down nine rebounds. The Hawks shot 34 percent from the floor (18-53) and 25 percent from 3-point range (5-20), but were harassed into 24 turnovers on 10 Big Red steals. Cornell connected on just 31.7 percent overall (19-60) and a mere 8.3 percent beyond the arc (1-12), but had just 15 turnovers.
 
CORNELL VS. THE AMERICAN EAST: Cornell improved to 18-22 all-time vs. the current members of the America East Conference after defeating Vermont last season. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Albany (5-1) and UMBC (2-0), while its series record with Stony Brook (1-1) is tied. Cornell holds a losing mark vs. Binghamton (6-8), Hartford (0-1), Maine (0-1), New Hampshire (0-4) and Vermont (4-6), but has never faced UMass-Lowell ... Coach Smith is 8-12 all-time vs. the America East.
 
THE SERIES VS. BRYANT: Cornell and Bryant have met just twice, with the Big Red winning both, including last season's 66-64 decision. The first meeting came at the 2008 URI Classic in Kingston, R.I., where Cornell earned the 66-55 victory at Coach Smith's alma mater. 
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS (courtesy www.BryantBulldogs.com): The Bryant women's basketball team was picked second in the 2015-16 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and senior Breanna Rucker earned a spot on the preseason all-conference team. Rucker returns to the court after an outstanding season in which she earned NEC Player of the Year honors. An All-NEC First Team selection, Rucker led the Bulldogs in points per game (16.3, fifth in NEC) and finished first in the league in rebounds per game (11.3). The 5-11 swing player helped lead the Bulldogs to their third-straight NEC tournament appearance and their first-ever regular season NEC Championship. The success of last years' team earned them the second spot in the preseason poll. The Bulldogs received two first-place votes, finishing behind defending NEC Champ Robert Morris.
 
LAST TIME VS. BRYANT: After a back-and-forth second half against a confident Bryant team, Nicholle Aston became the Big Red's fourth double figure scorer by calmly sinking a 15-foot jumper with 4.4 seconds left as Cornell topped the Bulldogs 66-64 on Dec. 6 at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 4-4 on the year, while Bryant slipped to 6-2. Aston's ninth and 10th points of the day proved to be the difference, as Jenniqua Bailey went coast-to-coast to attempt a tying layup, but her shot was still in her hand when the clock struck zero and the Big Red celebrated the victory. Aston added six rebounds to her total, while Nia Marshall scored a game-high 19 points with six rebounds and three assists. Megan LeDuc notched 17 points and Christine Kline had 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals to spur Cornell to victory. Cornell hit 54 percent of its shots from the field and limited the Bulldogs to 33 percent shooting. Ivory Bailey led Bryant with 18 points and six rebounds and Breanna Rucker had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Both Tiersa Winder and Jenniqua Bailey had 12 points apiece, with Bailey adding nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. The Bulldogs' 19 offensive rebounds helped them to an 11-5 advantage in second chance points, but the difference wasn't enough to sway the outcome.
 
CORNELL VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: Cornell is 24-8 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 (2-0), Farleigh Dickinson (2-0), Long Island (3-1), Mt. St. Mary (1-0), Robert Morris (3-1), Sacred Heart (1-0), St. Francis (N.Y.) (6-2), St. Francis (Pa.) (3-2) and Wagner (2-1) ... Coach Smith is 10-5 all-time vs. the NEC.
 
FOR OPENERS: The Big Red is 19-25 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith saw her record slip to 3-10 in season openers after being edged by Hartford, 48-46, on Nov. 14, 2014 at Newman Arena.
 
PRESEASON IVY STANDINGS: The Big Red women's basketball team was picked to finish in fifth place in the 2015-16 Ivy League preseason media poll. No. 25 Princeton, the reigning Ivy League champion, is the preseason favorite earning 16-of-17 first place votes and 135 points overall. Penn was the only other team to earn a first place vote and register more than 100 points with 115. Harvard was picked third with 94 points, followed by Yale in fourth place (76 points). Cornell (64 points) sits above Dartmouth (60), Brown (42) and Columbia (26). 
 
WHAT WAS LOST: The Big Red graduated two players from the 2014-15 squad – Christine Kline and Sarah Poland – and lost two other non-letter winners. The four players accounted for an average of 9.4 points and 6.25 rebounds per game.
 
WHAT REMAINS: Cornell returns four starters and two additional letter winners from last season's squad. The Big Red returns 84% of its scoring (1,375-of-1,640 points) and 84% of its rebounding (874-of-1088) from a year ago.
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: Last season, Nia Marshall became just the 12th player in Cornell women's basketball history to register 400 points in a single season and the first since Allyson DiMagno tallied 411 in 2012-13. Prior to DiMagno, the last Big Red player to reach the 400 point plateau was Tanya Karcic (412) during the 2003-04 season.
 
TICKLE THE ALL-IVY:  Nia Marshall was named first-team All-Ivy last season. She became the Big Red's first member of the top conference team since Jeomi Maduka took home first-team honors following the 2007-08 season. Additionally, Marshall was named a College Sports Madness first-team selection.
 
JUST SHY OF A SCHOOL RECORD:  Nia Marshall fell just 13 points shy of setting a new school record for points in a single season, finishing the year with 455 points to rank third behind Mary LaMacchia (467 in 1995-96) and Rhonda Anderson (462 in 1982-83). 
 
 TIGHT LOSSES: Eight of the Big Red's 13 losses last season came by nine or fewer points.
 
TOUGH D: Cornell held eight opponents last season to less than 50 points, the most since the 1978-79 team held 10 opponents to fewer than 50 points.
 
40-MINUTE WOMEN:  Last season, Megan LeDuc played at least 40 minutes in eight contests. Only Karen Walker (27 games), Kacee English (17 games) and Lauren Benson (16 games) have played more 40-minute games in their career than LeDuc.
 
COACHING TENURE: Head coach Dayna Smith, in her 14th season at the helm of the Big Red program, ranks third overall in Ivy League women's basketball history in years served as a head coach in the conference. Only one active coach, Harvard's Kathy Delaney-Smith (34th season), ranks ahead of Cornell's Smith.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 50-of-137 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 24-26 record (.480).
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Last season, Cornell assisted on 405-of-617 baskets (66.0 percent) … At the end of the year, the team ranked second in the Ivy League and 78th in the country in assists per game (14.5) … Three Cornell players – Kerri Moran (third), Megan LeDuc (fourth), and Christine Kline (fourth) – ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in assists per game.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: At the end of the 2014-15 season, Cornell ranked second in the conference and 68th in the country in assist to turnover ratio (0.99) … The team was also third in the conference and 74th in the country in turnover margin (2.39).
 
I'LL TAKE THAT:
• Last season, the Big Red averaged 8.5 steals per game, ranking third in the Ivy League and 122nd in the nation.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES:
• Nia Marshall was named Ivy League Player of the Week (POW) four times last season (Dec. 22, Dec. 29, Jan. 12, Feb. 15), becoming the first Big Red women's basketball player to be named Ivy POW four times in a single season since Allyson DiMagno did so during the 2012-13 campaign.
• Marshall was also named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Feb. 3, 2014, to become the first-ever Cornell freshman to take home the honor.
• Marshall's five career POW honors ranks third all-time in Cornell history, behind Allyson DiMagno and Mary LaMacchia who each took home the award six times.
• In addition to her five POW honors, Marshall was named the Ivy Rookie of the Week (ROW) five times last season, giving her 10 total Ivy weekly awards to her credit, matching Jeomi Maduka who was honored 10 times by the conference (seven ROW; three POW).
 
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 139 career coaching wins.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell has held 44 of its 83 opponents (53 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 16-of-28 opponents (57 percent) last season.
 
STARTING STREAK: Junior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 30 games. Marshall had started every game of her freshman season, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
ON THE SMALL SIDE: Cornell's roster of 12 players is the smallest in the Ivy League, tied with Dartmouth.
 
SMALL SENIOR DAY: Cornell's 2015-16 roster features just one senior – Maddie Campbell. Every other team in the Ivy League has at least two seniors, while Princeton tops the conference with five. 
 
30-POINT PERFORMANCES:
• Nia Marshall registered at least 30 points three times last season – 33 points vs. Howard on Jan. 7; 36 points vs. Vermont on Dec. 30; 31 points vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 20.
• With 33 points vs. Howard, Marshall became the first player in Cornell women's basketball history to score at least 30 points three times in the same season.
• Her career-high 36 points came in Cornell's double overtime victory against Vermont on Dec. 30.
• Marshall's first career 30-point game, coming vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 20, made her the first Big Red player to reach the 30-point plateau since Do Stevens in 2001.
• Marshall is the only player in Coach Smith's tenure to score 30+ points in a game.
• Only three women's basketball players in Cornell history have had three 30 point games in their career, with Marshall joining Keri Farley and Karen Walker.
• Only once before has Cornell had two 30-point games in the same season, previously done by Karin Dwyer (Jan. 21, 1984 vs. Yale; Feb. 24, 1984).
 
100 THREES: The Big Red has amassed at least 100 3-pointers in each of the last seven seasons … 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.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red added two players to the 2015-16 squad – Samantha Clement (Anaheim, Calif.) and Caroline Shelquist (Minnetonka, Minn.). The duo  hails from two different states and features a Miss Basketball Minnesota nominee (Shelquist), as well as a player that broke her high school's record for career 3-pointers made (Clement).
 
HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell has a new face on the bench for the 2015-16 season, as Kelsey Florian has joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Florian comes to East Hill following a successful two-year stint with Ithaca College, where she served as a graduate assistant coach for the Bombers while earning a Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences. While at IC, Florian was part of the 2014-15 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year after helping the Bombers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During her two seasons on South Hill, Ithaca posted a combined record of 49-11, a pair of Empire 8 regular season championships, and one E8 Tournament championship. A native of Roseville, Minn., Florian played collegiately at Gustavus Adolphus College.
 
THE 2014-15 SEASON: Cornell finished the 2014-15 season with a 15-13 record (6-8 Ivy), the program's first winning season since the 2007-08 campaign. With its 9-5 non-conference record, the Big Red earned a winning non-conference record for the third straight season, a feat that has never been accomplished in Cornell women's basketball history. At one point, the Big Red had a six-game winning streak from Dec. 30, 2014 to Jan. 30, 2015, the longest since setting the school record with eight consecutive victories during the 2007-08 season. Following a brilliant sophomore campaign in which she came just 13 points shy of setting the school record, Nia Marshall was named first-team All-Ivy. She was the Big Red's first member of the top conference team since Jeomi Maduka took home first-team honors following the 2007-08 season. Additionally, Marshall was named a College Sports Madness first-team selection. Marshall became the first player in Cornell women's basketball history to score at least 30 points three times in the same season. But Marshall was not the only member of the sophomore class to have impressive single-game performances, as Nicholle Aston set the school record for field goal percentage in a single game (1.000; 8-for-8 vs. Marshall on Nov. 26), and Megan LeDuc matched the Cornell single-game record with eight steals vs. Columbia on Jan. 17. Additionally, the 2014-15 squad set the school record for the fewest turnovers in a single game with just five miscues at Penn on Feb. 6.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red will play its first home game of the season when it welcomes Colgate on Wednesday, Nov. 18 for a contest at 8:30 p.m. The game will be the nightcap in a double-header as the Big Red men's team will take on Binghamton at 6 p.m.