GAME INFORMATION
Game #4: Cornell vs. Saint Francis University
Tip off: Monday, Nov. 23, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2015-16 Records: Cornell (2-1, 0-0 Ivy); SFU (1-3, 0-0 NEC)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: SFU won, 86-47 on Nov. 25, 2003 (Loretto, Pa.)
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Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red welcomes Saint Francis University to Newman Arena this evening for a contest at 6:00 p.m. The game will be the start of a double-header as the Big Red men's team will take on Penn State Harrisburg at 8:30 p.m.
 
THE SERIES VS. SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: Cornell owns the 3-2 advantage in the series history with the Red Flash after winning the first three meetings (1988, 1989, 1995). Saint Francis has taken the last two outings, winning in 1999 and 2003.   
 
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH: SFU comes to Newman with a 1-3 record, but has played a tough schedule with losses to Cincinnati, Pitt, and Canisius. The Red Flash earned its lone victory on Nov. 18 when it defeated Coastal Carolina, 106-74, on the strength of a 30-point performance from freshman Jessica Kovatch. The Phillipsburg, N.J. native poured in 32 points in SFU's last outing at Canisius and now leads the team with 23.0 points per game. Brielle Ward, a graduate transfer from Hampton University, averages an impressive 8.3 rebounds per game, while Manhattan College transfer Katie Reese is handing out 5.8 assists per game.  The Red Flash was selected to finish eighth in the Preseason NEC Poll after missing the conference tournament last year with a 5-13 record. The team returns just two players that made more than 10 starts a year ago, and features five freshmen, as well as the two transfers.
 
LAST TIME VS. SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: Tonjee Ward netted a game-high 20 points and helped her team shoot nearly 50 percent from the floor, as the Red Flash earned an 86-47 victory over Cornell in its home opener at DeGol Arena on Nov. 25, 2003. The Big Red, which drops to 0-3 with the loss, was led by senior Tanya Karcic's 13 points. With the Red Flash holding a slim 10-9 lead with just under 17 minutes left in the opening half, the home team would build on its advantage going on a 12-3 run, including eight straight points by Ward. SFU would continue to watch its lead grow, as it held a 20-point lead in the final minute of the first half before heading into the locker room up 47-28. The Red Flash shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half and had three of its players score in double-digit figures by halftime. Ward had 17 at the break, while Beth Swink and Christin Black scored all of their 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the first half. Cornell's first-half scoring leader was Lauren Kilduff, who recorded eight points. Cornell looked to cut into its halftime deficit, but was unable to record a second-half field goal until the 13:57 mark on a layup by sophomore Sarah Brown. By that time, the Red Flash had established a 59-34 lead and would go on from there to record 11 of the next 13 points to put the game away. All 11 of SFU's players who suited up found their way into the scorebook and the team missed only one of its 14 attempts from the free throw line. Kilduff finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Big Red and senior Katie Romey added team highs of six rebounds and three blocks.
 
CORNELL VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: Cornell is 25-8 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 (3-0), 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 11-5 all-time vs. the NEC.
 
A CORNELL WIN WOULD:
• improve the Big Red to 3-1 to start a season for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when Cornell went 5-1. During that run, the Big Red's loss came to Saint Francis University.
• improve the Big Red to 4-2 in the all-time series with SFU.
• even head coach Dayna Smith's record at 1-1 against the Red Flash.
• be the fourth in a row vs. a member of the NEC dating back to a 76-63 loss to Robert Morris on Dec. 21, 2013.
• make Coach Smith 12-5 all-time vs. the NEC.
 
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-140 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 120th in the nation in turnover margin (2.67) … The Big Red is also second in the conference and 42nd in the nation in turnovers per game (12.5) ... Maddie Campbell ranks first in the Ivy League and 22^nd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (4.50)
 
I'LL TAKE THAT:
• So far this season, the Big Red is averaging 8.3 steals per game, ranking fourth in the Ivy League and 161st in the nation.
 
IVY RANKINGS:
• Nia Marshal ranks third in the conference in points per game (18.7)
• Nicholle Aston ranks 12^th overall in points per game (12.7)
• Maddie Campbell ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (8.0)
• Nicholle Aston ranks 11^th overall in rebounds per game (7.3)
• Nia Marshal ranks fourth in the conference in assists per game (3.3)
• Maddie Campbell and Megan LeDuc both rank sixth overall in assists per game (3.0)
• Nia Marshal ranks third in the conference in steals per game (2.3)
• Maddie Campbell ranks first in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (4.50)
 
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 141 career coaching wins.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell has held 46 of its 86 opponents (53 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 opponents (67 percent) this season.
 
STARTING STREAK: Junior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 32 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.
 
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 open up a two-game road trip, heading to Buffalo to take on the Bulls on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m., before closing the month at Marshall on Friday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m.