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GAME INFORMATION
Game #27: Cornell vs. No. 13 Princeton
Tipoff: Friday, March 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2014-15 Records: Cornell (15-11, 6-6 Ivy); Princeton (27-0, 11-0 Ivy)
Series Record: Princeton leads, 49-20
Last Meeting: Princeton won, 75-47, on Feb. 7, 2015 (Princeton, N.J.)
 
Game #28: Cornell vs. Penn
Tipoff: Saturday, March 7, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2014-15 Records: Cornell (15-11, 6-6 Ivy)*; Penn (18-7, 9-2 Ivy) *
Series Record: Penn leads, 52-20
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 60-49, on Feb. 6, 2015 (Philadelphia, Pa.)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team will play its final games of the season when it welcomes No. 13 Princeton and Penn to Newman Arena. Cornell enters the weekend with an Ivy record of 6-6 and needs just one win to post its most conference victories since the 2007-08 squad won the Ancient Eight title with a record of 11-3. The Big Red sits in a tie with Yale for third place in the Ivy League standings, while the undefeated Tigers (27-0, 11-0 Ivy) sit in first-place, followed by the second-place Quakers (18-7, 9-2 Ivy). The Big Red is out to avenge a 75-47 loss to Princeton and snap its current 13-game skid to the Tigers on Friday, March 6, at 7:00 p.m. The following evening at 6 p.m., Cornell will celebrate Senior Day and attempt to sweep the Quakers for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
 
SENIOR SALUTE: This weekend the Big Red will celebrate Senior Day, as Christine Kline and Sarah Poland play their final games at Newman Arena.
Christine Kline • G • Staten Island, N.Y.
A player that has seen an increase in playing time each and every season, Christine Kline has saved her best season for her last, starting every game of the 2014-15 campaign and playing a career high 32.3 minutes per game. She enters the weekend ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in assists (fifth), steals (third), assist/turnover ratio (second) and minutes played (ninth). She also ranks 10th overall in Cornell single-season history with 54 steals, needing just six more to jump into the top five. Kline has scored in double-digits nine times this season, with a career-high 16 points vs. both Fairfield and Bryant. She has led the team in assists 12 times, including a career-high eight vs. Bryant, and has had a team-high in steals 13 times, including a career-high six vs. Buffalo.
 
Sarah Poland • F • Valley View, Ohio
A senior captain, Sarah Poland has played in nearly every game over the past two seasons, and has been the first forward off the bench in every game during the 2014-15 campaign. She is averaging a career-high 13.2 minutes per contest, while also averaging career-highs in points (2.1) and rebounds (2.3). She was instrumental in the Big Red's victory over Yale on Feb. 20, posting a season-high eight points to go along with three rebounds, a career-high three assists and two blocked shots.  Poland had one of her best career games during her sophomore season, when she went a perfect 6-for-6 against the Quakers to finish with a career-high 13 points.

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON: The Tigers hold a 49-20 edge in the series with the Big Red. The series began in 1974-75 with a 51-33 Princeton victory, but the teams wouldn't meet again until the 1979-80 season. The schools have met every year since 1979-80, and the Tigers have won the last 13 outings. Coach Dayna Smith is 7-19 vs. Princeton.
               
SCOUTING THE TIGERS (courtesy GoPrincetonTigers.com): Princeton has climbed to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll after setting a new school record with 27 wins last weekend. The undefeated Tigers are led by Blake Dietrick, who leads the Ivy League in assists per game (5.1). She is also tied for fourth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1), and ranks fifth in scoring (14.9), three-point percentage (42.2) and field goal percentage (48.9). The only unbeaten team remaining in Division I women's basketball, the Orange and Black rank second in the nation in three-point shooting percentage (40.4). One of the nation's most efficient offenses, Princeton also sits second in scoring margin (+25.3), third in field goal percentage (49.7), 13th in assists (17.3), 14th in scoring (77.3) and 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18). Also boasting one of the nation's stingiest defenses, the Tigers are third in opponent field goal percentage (33.7), fifth in opponent three-point percentage (25.5), sixth in rebounding margin (+11.5) and seventh in points allowed (52.0).
 
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: The Big Red was able to hang with No. 18/20 Princeton for long stretches, but the undefeated and Ivy League leading Tigers proved to be too much as it earned a 75-47 victory on Feb. 7 at Jadwin Gym. Cornell had a trio of players score in double figures, led by Nia Marshall with 14 points, while Nicholle Aston and Kerri Moran finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Unfortunately, the rest of the Big Red roster accounted for just 10 points. Aston also finished with a team high seven rebounds, while Christine Kline grabbed six boards and had a team-high four steals. The Tigers were led by Michelle Miller's 14-pont, 11-reobund double-double, while Alex Wheatley added 14 points and eight boards as Princeton held the significant 42-29 edge on the boards. Cornell was plagued by a poor shooting first half (24.2 percent) and despite hitting 46.7 percent of its shots in the second half managed to finish at just 34.9 percent for the game. The Tigers connected on 56.9 percent overall, thanks to hitting an impressive 60 percent from the field in the second half as they put the game out of reach. Princeton turned the ball over 17 times, thanks to 10 Cornell steals, while the Big Red had 13 miscues.
 
THE SERIES VS. PENN: Cornell's rivalry with the Quakers began during the 1974-75 season and the two teams have met every year since, excluding the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons. The Quakers hold the all-time series record, 52-20, but the Big Red has won 11 of the last 19 meetings. Coach Smith, who served as an assistant coach for Penn from 1999-2002, holds a 11-14 record vs. her old squad.
               
SCOUTING THE QUAKERS (courtesy of PennAthletics.com): A perfect 4-0 sweep of a four-game homestand saw the Quakers extend their winning streak to seven games and clinch a postseason berth. Penn's last loss came to Cornell on Feb. 6 at the Palestra. The Quakers offense is well-balanced with four players averaging more than eight points per game, led by Sydney Stipanovich's 11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The team's strength lies in its defense, as the team ranks fifth in the nation with 6.5 blocks per game, 10th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense (.348) and 13th in the country in scoring defense (54.2 ppg). On five occasions this year, they have held an opponent under 40 points.
 
LAST TIME VS. PENN: The Big Red used a balanced offensive effort and a stifling defense to defeat Penn, 60-49, on Feb. 6 at the Palestra. Sophomore forward Nicholle Aston tallied her third double-double in four games, finishing with a game-high 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Aston hits 7-of-15 shots and filled out the stat line with two assists, two blocks and one steal. Sophomore guard Kerri Moran tallied 15 points, thanks in large part to a 6-of-8 performance from the foul line, grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, handed out three assists and had one steal. After a slow start, sophomore forward Nia Marshall finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. Sophomore guard Megan LeDuc also had a solid game with nine points, five rebounds, a team-high four assists and three steals. Cornell held the 43-38 edge in rebounds, including the advantage on the offensive boards (12-8), which led to 14 second chance points for the visitors. The Big Red also forced 14 Penn turnovers with nine steals, giving Cornell the 10-3 edge in points off turnovers. Cornell turned the ball over just five times, setting a school record for the fewest turnovers in a single game, besting the record of six which had previously been set twice before (at Penn in 2008; at Princeton on March 9, 1985). Penn was led by Michelle Nwokedi's 11-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Kara Bonenberger and Kathleeen Roach chipped in 10 points each. Sydney Stipanovich, who averages 10.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game was held to just five points and six rebounds while being harassed into six turnovers. Cornell led by as many as 18 points (38-20) early in the second half but saw the lead nearly evaporate as the Quakers used a 17-3 run to make it a four-point game (41-37) with just over nine minutes to play in the contest. But the Big Red fought back, using a running layup from Christine Kline, to jump start a 5-0 run and the home team never got back to within four points the rest of the way.
 
IVY STANDINGS: Cornell and Yale enter the weekend tied for third place in the Ivy League with identical conference records of 6-6, behind undefeated No. 13 Princeton (11-0) and second-place Penn (9-2). The Big Red will play the Tigers and Quakers this weekend, having split the weekend series earlier this season with a victory over Penn. The Bulldogs will play host to Harvard and Dartmouth. Earlier this season, Yale defeated the Big Green but lost to the Crimson. 
 
SEEKING SEVEN WINS: The Big Red enters the weekend with six Ivy League wins, needing just one more victory in its final two games to post the most conference wins since the 2007-08 season.
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: Earlier this season, Nia Marshall became just the 12^th 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.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT:  Nia Marshall is on pace to break the school record for points scored in a single season. The sophomore forward enters the weekend averaging 16.7 points per game. With her 434 points so far, she is just 33 points shy of the record and would need to average 16.5 points per game over the final two games of the season to set the new standard.
 
MOVING ON UP: 
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked seventh overall in Cornell history for points in a single season (434) and needs just 11 more to surpass Karen Walker, who scored 445 points during the 1990-91 season. 
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked sixth overall in Cornell history for field goals made in a single season (165) and needs just two more to surpass Patti Froehlich and move into fifth place.
*Nicholle Aston enters the weekend ranked 20th overall in Cornell history for field goals made in a single season (137) and needs just three more to surpass Karin Dwyer and move into 16th place.
*Megan LeDuc enters the weekend ranked 19th overall in Cornell history for 3-point field goals made in a single season (36) and needs just one more to tie Karen Walker, Shelby Lyman and Tarsha Harrison in 16th place.
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked 11th overall in Cornell history for free throws made in a single season (103) and needs just two more makes to leap into the top 10.
*Nicholle Aston and Nia Marshall enter the weekend ranked 16th (194) and 17th (193) overall, respectively, in Cornell history for rebounds in a single season.  Aston needs just 11 more, while Marshall needs 12 more to move into the top 10.
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked seventh overall in Cornell history with 142 defensive rebounds, needing just one more to tie Allyson DiMagno (2011-12) and Clare Fitzpartick (2011-12) for fifth place overall.
*Nicholle Aston enters the weekend ranked 11th overall in Cornell history with 127 defensive rebounds, needing just two more to surpass Kelly Jackson (1997-98) and move into 10h place overall.
*Nicholle Aston enters the weekend ranked 15th overall in Cornell history with 67 offensive rebounds, needing just three more to tie Allyson DiMagno (2010-11) in 10^th place.
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked ninth overall in Cornell history with 55 steals, needing just five more to jump into the top five and tie Kacee English (1996-97).
*Christine Kline enters the weekend ranked 10th overall in Cornell history with 54 steals, needing just six more to jump into the top five.
*Megan LeDuc enters the weekend ranked sixth in Cornell history with 936 minutes played needs to play just 25 more minutes to surpass Lauren Benson in fifth place.
*Nia Marshall enters the weekend ranked 19th in Cornell history with 886 minutes played needs to play just 41 more minutes to move into the top 10.
 
TIGHT LOSSES: Eight of the Big Red's 11 losses this season have come by nine or few points.
 
TOUGH D: Cornell has held eight opponents this season to less than 50 points, the most since the 1978-79 team held 10 opponents to fewer than 50 points … As of March 2, the Big Red ranks 40th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 57.5 points per game.
 
40-MINUTE WOMEN: 
So far this season, Megan LeDuc has played at least 40 minutes in eight contests. Only Karen Walker, Kacee English and Lauren Benson have played more 40-minute games in there career than LeDuc.
1) Kacee English – 27 games
2) Karen Walker – 17 games
3) Lauren Benson – 16 games
4) Megan LeDuc – 8 games
5) Yvonne Jones – 8 games
6) Allyson DiMagno – 6 games
7) Kim Ruck – 5 games
 
COACHING TENURE: Head coach Dayna Smith, in her 13^th 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 (33^rd season), ranks ahead of Cornell's Smith.
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: So far this season, Cornell has assisted on 389-of-589 baskets (66.0 percent) … As of March 2, the team ranks second in the Ivy League and 67th in the country in assists per game (15.0) … Three Cornell players – Megan LeDuc (fourth), Christine Kline (fifth), and Kerri Moran (sixth) – rank in the top 10 of the Ivy League in assists per game.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: As of March 2, Cornell is second in the conference and 66th in the country in assist to turnover ratio (0.99) … The team is also third in the conference and 86th in the country in turnover margin (2.19).
 
I'LL TAKE THAT:
• As of March 2, the Big Red is averaging 8.5 steals per game, ranking fourth in the Ivy League and 107th in the nation.
 
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT (as of March 2):
• Christine Kline ranks 66th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.87), while Megan LeDuc (150th – 1.48) and Kerri Moran (225th – 1.16) also appear in the rankings.
• Megan LeDuc ranks 201st in the country with 3.4 assists per game, while Christine Kline and Kerri Moran are 210th and 214th, respectively.
• Nicholle Aston currently ranks 35th in the nation with a .517 shooting percentage, while Nia Marshall sits at 109th overall (.466).
• Nia Marshall ranks 98th in the country in points per game (16.7) and 190th in rebounds per contest (7.4).
• Nia Marshall ranks 107th in the nation with 2.12 steals per game, while Christine Kline sits 118th nationally with 2.08 steals per game.
 
IVY LEADERS: As of March 1, several Big Red players are ranked among the Ivy League leaders this season, including:
*Nia Marshall – third in scoring (16.7 ppg.)
*Nicholle Aston –12th in scoring (11.9 ppg.)
*Megan LeDuc – 20th in scoring (8.5 ppg.)
*Nicholle Aston – sixth in rebounding (7.5 rpg.)
*Nia Marshall – seventh in rebounding (7.4 rpg.)
*Nicholle Aston – second in field goal percentage (.517)
*Nia Marshall – eighth in field goal percentage (.466)
*Megan LeDuc – fourth in assists per game (3.4 apg.)
*Christine Kline – fifth in assists per game (3.4 apg.)
*Kerri Moran – sixth in assists per game (3.3 apg.)
*Nia Marshall – 10th in free throw percentage (.678)
*Nia Marshall – second in steals (2.1 spg.)
*Christine Kline – third in steals (2.1 spg.)
*Megan LeDuc – 11th in steals (1.3 spg.)
*Megan LeDuc – 13th in 3-point FG percentage (.275)
*Megan LeDuc – ninth in 3-point FGM (1.4 per game)
*Christine Kline – second in assist/turnover ratio (1.9)
*Megan LeDuc – fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5)
*Kerri Moran – sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.2)
*Nicholle Aston – fourth in offensive rebs. (2.6 per game)
*Nia Marshall – 11th in offensive rebs. (2.0 per game)
*Nia Marshall – fifth in defensive rebs. (5.5 per game)
*Nicholle Aston – sixth in defensive rebs. (4.9 per game)
*Megan LeDuc – first in minutes played (36.0 per game)
*Nia Marshall – fourth in minutes played (34.1 per game
*Christine Kline – ninth in minutes played (32.3 per game)
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES:
• Nia Marshall has been named Ivy League Player of the Week (POW) four times this 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 earned her first Ivy League Player of the Week of the season on Dec. 22 after becoming the first Big Red player to register 30+ points in a game since the 2001 season, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds vs. Robert Morris.
• She repeated as Ivy League Player of the Week on Dec. 29, becoming the first Big Red player to earn back-to-back honors since Allyson DiMagno during the 2012-13 season.
• In three of those four weeks (Dec. 22, Dec. 29, Jan. 12), she also named the College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week.
• Marshall was also named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Feb. 3, 2014, to become the first-ever Cornell player to take home the honor as a freshman. 
• 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; 3 POW).
• Nicholle Aston earned her first Ivy POW honor on Jan. 26 following her 14-point, 10-rebound double-double at Columbia. She was also named the College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week.
 
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 held 44 of its 81 opponents (54 percent) to below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including 16-of-26 opponents (62 percent) so far this season.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 50-of-135 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 24-26 record (.480).
 
STARTING STREAK: With the graduation of Allyson DiMagno, sophomore Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at just 28 games. Both Marshall and Kerri Moran started every game in 2013-14, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
BIG MINUTES: Not only have Nicholle Aston, Christine Kline and Megan LeDuc earned the first starts of their collegiate careers this season, but the trio has each roughly tripled their playing time from a season ago. Kline has seen the greatest increase, going from 7.4 to 32.3 minutes per game, while Aston has gone from 11.3 to 31.3 minutes per game, and LeDuc has gone from 11.5 to 36.0 minutes per game. 
 
100 THREES: The Big Red has amassed at least 100 3-pointers in each of the last seven seasons, a streak is in danger, as Cornell enters the weekend 15 treys short … 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.