GAME INFORMATION
Game #3: Cornell vs. Colgate
Tip off: Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8:30 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2015-16 Records: Cornell (1-1, 0-0 Ivy); Colgate (0-1, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 20-15
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 74-66 on Nov. 19, 2014 (Hamilton, N.Y.)
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Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: 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.
 
THE SERIES VS. COLGATE: Standing at 35 meetings all-time, Cornell's series with the Raiders is the longest in women's basketball history, excluding Ivy League games. The Big Red has won eight of the last nine games against the Raiders to take the slim lead in the all-time series, 20-15. The series began during the 1978-79 season, a 65-60 overtime victory for the Big Red, but Colgate won 10 of the first 14 meetings overall before Cornell won five straight from 1992-93 to 1996-97. Since the 1992-93 season, the Big Red has gone 16-5 against Colgate and head coach Dayna Smith is 8-3 all-time against the Raiders. 
 
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS (courtesy www.GoColgateRaiders.com): Colgate's best finish to a conference season in a decade is producing higher expectations for the 2015-16 Raiders. Colgate is projected for a seventh-place result in the Patriot League Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. Seventh is where the Raiders ended last season after winning their final three conference games and then adding another victory in the first round of the Patriot League tournament. The Raiders wound up 7-11 in the conference for their most league wins since the 2003-04 championship team went 10-4. Colgate also sported its best conference winning percentage (.389) since the 2005-06 squad went 6-8 (.429). In the Raiders season opener, Kent State used a 15-point flurry to begin the second half and then held off a furious Colgate finish in a 76-71 decision on Sunday. The game was tied 31-31 at halftime after Colgate ended the second quarter on a 6-2 run. But the Golden Flashes used full-court pressure to spark a 15-0 surge that began the third period. Kent State went in front 46-31 and built its lead to as much as 63-44 early in the fourth quarter. But Colgate, with a career scoring highs of 25 from Paige Kriftcher and 20 from Josie Stockill, fought to the end. The Raiders closed the game on an 18-6 run but it wasn't enough.
 
LAST TIME VS. COLGATE: After leading by double-digits for the majority of the game, Colgate made it a two-point contest with 1:32 to play, but some tough defense and impressive free throw shooting down the stretch gave the Big Red its first victory of the 2014-15 season, winning 74-66, on Nov. 19 on Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y. Megan LeDuc led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, while Maddie Campbell finished with then career-highs in both points (14) and rebounds (8). The forward tandem of Nicholle Aston (12) and Nia Marshall (11) rounded out the Big Red's double-digit scorers with Aston pulling down eight rebounds and Marshall tallying five boards and three steals. The game was a total team effort with guards Kerri Moran and Christine Kline combining for 15 points and six assists. Colgate (0-2) had three scorers in double-digits, led by Paige Kriftcher and Carole Harris with 14 points apiece, while Missy Repoli added 12. Cornell shot an impressive 50 percent overall (27-54), buoyed by a fast start as it shot 60 percent in the first half. The Raiders weren't far behind at 45.9 percent from the floor for the game and both teams were an identical 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Big Red held the slim edge on the boards, 34-31, but seemed to get all of the important ones in the final minute of the game to steal the victory.
 
CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell is 43-57 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League. The Big Red owns the advantage in the series with Lafayette (8-7) and Colgate (20-15), and is tied all-time with Loyola (Md.) (2-2), but holds a losing mark against American (1-2), Army (5-6), Bucknell (5-19), Lehigh (2-4), and Navy (0-2). Boston University and Holy Cross are the only members of the Patriot League that Cornell has never faced in women's basketball ... Coach Smith's record vs. the conference stands at 18-16 after going 2-1 against the Patriot League last season with wins vs. Colgate and Loyola.
 
A CORNELL WIN WOULD:
• improve the Big Red to 2-1 to start a season for the third time in four seasons.
• improve the Big Red to 21-15 in the all-time series with Colgate.
• be the fifth in a row over the Raiders.
• give Cornell its ninth win in 10 games against Colgate.
• improve head coach Dayna Smith to 9-3 against the Raiders
• make Coach Smith 19-16 all-time vs. the Patriot League.
 
FOR OPENERS: The Big Red is 19-26 all-time in season openers. Coach Dayna Smith saw her record slip to 3-11 in season openers after being edged by Hartford, 53-50, on Nov. 13, 2015. It was Cornell's second consecutive one-possession loss to the Hawks in a season opener.
 
CAMPBELL CAN: Senior Maddie Campbell earned her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Big Red's 70-62 victory over Bryant. She's the only current player on the team other than Nia Marshall (10) and Nicholle Aston (7) to post a double-double and the first to do it in the 2015-16 season.
 
BIG RED COMEBACK: Cornell trailed by as many as 10 points in its game with Bryant before outscoring the Bulldogs, 26-15, in the final quarter of action to steal a 70-62 victory on Nov. 15. Cornell used a decisive 11-0 run over a span of 3:41 in the fourth quarter to take a lead it would not relinquish. In addition Nia Marshall's 23 points and Maddie Campbell's 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, Megan LeDuc was key, scoring nine of her 13 points in the decisive fourth quarter.  
 
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.
 
40-MINUTE WOMEN:  Megan LeDuc has played at least 40 minutes in eight contests during her career. 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 52-of-139 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 25-27 record (.481).
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: So far this season, Cornell ranks third in the Ivy League and 99th in the nation in turnover margin (4.00) … The Big Red is also third in the conference and 52nd in the nation in turnovers per game (12.5).
 
I'LL TAKE THAT:
• So far this season, the Big Red is averaging 10.0 steals per game, ranking second in the Ivy League and 113th in the nation.
 
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 140 career coaching wins.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell has held 45 of its 85 opponents (53 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 1-of-2 opponents (50 percent) this season.
 
STARTING STREAK: Junior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 31 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. 
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 remain home to take on Saint Francis University on Monday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. The game will be part of a double-header as Cornell's men's basketball team will take on Penn State-Harrisburg at 8:30 p.m.