GAME INFORMATION
Game #12: Cornell vs. Binghamton
Tip off: Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473) Ithaca, N.Y.
2015-16 Records: Cornell (6-5, 0-0 Ivy); Binghamton (4-7, 0-0 America East)
Series Record: Binghamton leads, 8-6
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 63-52, at Newman Arena on 12/4/13
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell/schedule
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wbball
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red closes the 2015 portion of its schedule when it welcomes Binghamton to Newman Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. Cornell is 4-1 at home and is looking to win its third straight vs. the Bearcats, which would be the most consecutive Big Red victories in the history of the series. Binghamton enters the game with a 4-7 record but has yet to win a road contest this season (0-7).  
 
THE SERIES VS. BINGHAMTON: Cornell and Binghamton have met 14 times in women's basketball history. The Big Red has won the last two outings but still trail in the all-time series, 8-6. Cornell also won the first two meetings, which occurred in the late 1970's, when the Binghamton squad played on the Division III level. Cornell renewed its rivalry with the Bearcats during the 2001-02 campaign, the same season that Binghamton transitioned to Division I status. The Bearcats won that meeting, 66-61, and defeated the Big Red again the following season, 66-48, but Cornell reclaimed the edge in the series history with a 50-43 victory during the 2004-05 season. Binghamton took the temporary lead in the series with two straight victories during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, before Cornell evened the series at 4-4 during the 2007-08 campaign. The next season, the Bearcats opened up a four-game winning streak to take the lead in the series.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BEARCATS: The Big Red forced 24 turnovers with 16 steals to hold off a hot-shooting Binghamton team and earn the 63-52 victory on Dec. 4, 2013 at Newman Arena. The victory gave Cornell back-to-back victories over the Bearcats for the first time since the 1977-78/1978-79 seasons.
Cornell had three players reach double-figures, led by Allyson DiMagno's 19 points. Freshman forward Nia Marshall tallied 14 points and had a team-high six steals, while senior guard Shelby Lyman finished with 10 points. Senior guard Stephanie Long handed out five assists and was one of five Big Red players to register at least two steals. Freshman Kerri Moran also had a solid game with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Binghamton was led by Stephanie Jensen's 17 points, while Morgan Murphy had 10 points and seven rebounds. Kandace Newry had a game-high 11 rebounds to help the Bearcats to a 31-22 advantage on the backboards. The Bearcats shot better than 50 percent from floor (.524; 22-of-24) and just under 50 percent three point range (.429; 6-of-14), but took 10 less shots than Cornell. The Big Red finished at 40.4 percent from the floor (21-52) and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (4-12), and also converted 17-of-19 free throws while BU was a perfect 4-of-4.
 
CORNELL VS. THE AMERICAN EAST: Cornell slipped to 18-24 all-time vs. the current members of the America East Conference after a 58-49 loss to Stony Brook earlier this season. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Albany (5-1) and UMBC (2-0), but a losing mark vs. Binghamton (6-8), Hartford (0-2), Maine (0-1), New Hampshire (0-4), Stony Brook (1-2) and Vermont (4-6). Cornell has never faced UMass-Lowell in women's basketball ... Coach Smith is 8-14 all-time vs. the America East.
 
A CORNELL WIN WOULD:
• be the third straight vs. the Bearcats, the longest Big Red streak in the history of the series.
• improve the Big Red to 7-5 on the season and 5-1 at Newman Arena.
• guarantee the team a .500 record in non-conference games for the fourth consecutive season.
• snap a two-game skid to America East opponents.
• improve Cornell to 19-24 all-time vs. the America East and make head coach Dayna Smith 9-14.

1,000-POINT CLUB: Nia Marshall enters the game vs. Binghamton needing just 12 points to become the 14^th 1,000-point scorer in Cornell women's basketball history.
 
RACE TO 1,000: With 988 career points through 67 games, Nia Marshall is on pace to reach the 1,000-point plateau faster than any Cornell player other than Karen Walker '91, the leading scorer in Cornell history, who scored her 1,000th point in her 65th career game. The junior forward is averaging 16.5 points per game, which would have her eclipse the mark in her 68th career game.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: The Big Red is second in the Ivy League and 15th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.6) … Cornell is also first in the conference and 89th in the nation in turnover margin (2.64).
 
I'LL TAKE THAT: The Big Red is averaging 8.0 steals per game, ranking third in the Ivy League.
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU: The Big Red is first in the conference and 37th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.16) … Cornell also ranks third in the Ivy League and 101st in the nation in assist per game (14.6) … Kerri Moran leads the Ivy League and ranks 35th nationally with a 2.45 assist/turnover ratio.  Moran also leads the conference and ranks 91st in the country with 4.5 assists per game.
 
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. 
 
WELCOME HOME: Last weekend's trip to the West Coast was a homecoming for the three Big Red players that hail from the state of California – senior Maddie Campbell (Loomis, Calif.), junior Nicholle Aston (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and freshman Samantha Clement (Anaheim, Calif.).  
 
35 POINTS: Cornell held Fairfield to 35 points, the lowest point total by a Big Red opponent since defeating Keuka College, 46-35, during the 1978-79 season.
 
50 REBOUNDS: Cornell pulled down 50 rebounds in its 59-35 win over Fairfield, its most rebounds in a game this season. The Big Red last pulled down 50 rebounds a year ago in a double-overtime contest at Vermont. Prior to that, Cornell had 52 rebounds vs. Ithaca College during the 2012 season. The last time the Big Red had more than 50 rebounds in regulation vs. a Division I opponent came on Nov. 15, 2011, when it posted 53 vs. Colgate.
 
A PERFECT TIME: Over the course of four games – Marshall, Towson, Stony Brook and Fairfield – junior guard Kerri Moran had a streak of 96:16 without a turnover, including two full games vs. the Tigers and Seawolves. During that time, she has handed out 16 assists.
 
POINT-ASSIST: Junior guard Kerri Moran was outstanding vs. Towson with career highs in points (18) and assists (10), with no turnovers, to post the Big Reds first point-assist double-double since Lauren Benson had 13 points and set a school record with 12 assists vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 21. 2009. 
 
10 ASSISTS CLUB: With her 10 assists vs. Towson, Kerri Moran became just the 11th player in Cornell history to have 10 assists in a single game. Those 11 players have accounted for 22 double-digit assist performances.  
 
PERFECT 10: Kerri Moran became the first player in Cornell history to post 10 assists, with zero turnovers, in a single game. On three previous occasions, Lauren Benson (12-1 vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 21, 2009), Kacee English (11-1 vs. Penn on Feb. 28, 1997) and Keri Farley (10-1 vs. Colgate on Dec. 6, 1994) had all posted 10+ assist performances with just one turnover.
 
BIG NIGHT: Cornell's 88-point output vs. Towson was the most points scored in regulation by the Big Red since finishing with 92 vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 21. 2009. Cornell scored 90 points a year ago at Vermont in a double overtime contest.
 
ON THE RISE: In each of its first four games of the season, the Big Red upped its point production. After scoring just 50 in its season opener, Cornell went on to score 70 vs. Bryant, 73 vs. Colgate, and 75 vs. Saint Francis.


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.
 
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. At the time, she was 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 … In her second full season with the Big Red, the UCSB transfer is having her best season to date, averaging 7.2 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
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 53-of-147 games (36 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 26-27 record (.491).
 
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 145 career coaching wins.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Cornell has held 50 of its 93 opponents (53 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 6-of-10 opponents (60 percent) this season.
 
STARTING STREAK: Junior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 41 games. Marshall had started every game of her freshman season, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 opens the 2016 portion of its schedule when it travels to Howard on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.