GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Cornell vs. New Hampshire
Tipoff: Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2016-17 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); New Hampshire (0-0, 0-0 America East)
Series Record: New Hampshire leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: New Hampshire won, 59-56, on Nov. 24, 2014 (Durham, N.H.)
Live Video 
Live Stats

Game #2: Cornell vs. Loyola (Md.)
Tipoff: Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
* 2016-17 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Loyola (0-0, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Series Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 74-66, on Dec. 22, 2014 (Loyola, Md.)
Live Video 
Live Stats 
 
* records prior to Friday, Nov. 11

Fulll Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team opens its 46th season of play at Newman Arena when it hosts the University of New Hampshire on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., before welcoming Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.
 
THE SERIES VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Wildcats hold the all-time advantage against the Big Red, 4-0, but each of the last three contests have been decided by three or fewer points. UNH easily won the first meeting, 79-57, on Dec. 4, 1993 in the Cornell/Sheraton Classic at Newman Arena, before narrowly defeating Cornell by three points in 2015 (75-72) and 2012 (59-56), and just one point in 2011 (63-62) … Coach Smith is 0-3 vs. UNH.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE WILDCATS: The Big Red used a tremendous defensive effort to help overcome one of its worse shooting performances of the season, but fell just short in its comeback attempt against New Hampshire, dropping a 59-56 to the Wildcats in Lundholm Gymnasium on Nov. 24, 2014. Cornell erased UNH's 10-point second half lead and led by one-point with 42 seconds to play, but the Wildcats scored the final four points of the contest to improve to 3-1 on the season. Cornell was led Taylor Flynn with 15 points, while Clare Fitzpatrick finished the game with 10. For the first time this season, Allyson DiMagno did not reach double-digit points, but the junior forward did pull down a game-high 15 rebounds. Spencer Lane registered nine points, including the Big Red's final bucket of the contest, and Kristina Danielak chipped in a season-high seven. Lane also tallied five rebounds and two assists. New Hampshire was led by Cari Reed's 17 points while Morgan Frame and Elizabeth Belanger tallied 11 points apiece. Belanger finished the game with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to the Wildcats' cause. Despite holding a significant height advantage, UNH held just a slim edge in rebounds 40-39, and was forced into 19 turnovers with 11 Big Red steals. Cornell put up an impressive fight and for a good stretch of the second half seemed to win every 50-50 ball with its hustle, but was stymied by a 33.3 percent shooting performance from the floor (19-57), and a 21.4 percent performance from beyond the arc (3-14). The poor shooting even extended to the foul line, with the Big Red shooting well-below its season average at just 55.6 percent (15-27). UNH, on the other hand, hit nearly 40 percent for the game (21-53) and was at 31.6 percent from beyond the arc (6-19).
 
SCOUTING UNH: The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the America East Conference after finishing the 2015-16 season with a 12-18 record overall and a mark of 6-10 in the America East. Seventh-year head coach Maureen Magarity returns the team's leading scorer and rebounder, as junior forward Carlie Pogue averaged 11 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season. The team also returns America East All-Rookie team selection Ashley Storey, who averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds a game. The team will also rely on junior forward Kat Fogarty and junior guard Brittni Lai who are now eligible after sitting out last season as transfers from Marist College.
 
CORNELL VS. THE AMERICAN EAST: Cornell improved to 19-24 all-time vs. the current members of the America East Conference after a 64-57 victory over Binghamton last season. The Big Red holds a winning record vs. Albany (5-1) and UMBC (2-0), but a losing mark vs. Binghamton (7-8), 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 9-14 all-time vs. the America East.
 
THE SERIES VS. LOYOLA: Cornell and Loyola have faced off just four times in women's basketball, with the Greyhounds winning the first two meetings before the Big Red evened the series with consecutive victories in 2013 and 2014. The first meeting came during the 1982-83 season, a 61-53 decision at Loyola. The Greyhounds won again in 1991 (89-81) in the consolation game of the UNC-Greensboro Sheraton Tournament. Cornell earned its first win in the series with a narrow 57-53 decision in 2013, before posting a 79-61 rout in 2014 … Head coach Dayna Smith is 2-0 vs. Loyola.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE GREYHOUNDS:  The Big Red closed the first and opened the second half with a decisive 25-6 run to blow open what had been a back-and-fourth game, earning the 79-61 victory at Loyola (Md.) on Dec. 22, 2014 at Reitz Arena. Nia Marshall and Nicholle Aston finished with 24 and 21 points, respectively, the first time Cornell has had a pair of 20+ point scorers in the same game since Allison Abt (20) and Virginia McMunigal (20) did so against Yale on Feb. 20, 2009. The forward duo combined to knock down 18-of-27 shots, including an impressive 11-for-12 performance in the second half as the Big Red salted the game away. Christine Kline finished with seven points and seven assists, while both Megan LeDuc and Kerri Moran chipped in seven points and five assists apiece, as the Big Red assisted on 22-of-29 baskets. Moran also had a team-high six rebounds, followed by Marshall with five, as Cornell held the slim 30-28 advantage on the boards. Loyola was led by Jeneh Perry's 16 points, while Colleen Marshall (14) and Bri Betz-White (10) also finished in double digits. Cornell shot 49.2 percent from the floor, thanks in large part to an impressive 58.6 percent shooting performance in the second half. The Greyhounds also shot well above their season average, connecting on 44.9 percent overall, but the home team was harassed into 23 turnovers, as Cornell finished with 13 steals. The Big Red turned the ball over just 12 times. During the start of the decisive run, Cornell got four straight free throws from Marshall and consecutive steals that led to great finishes from Maddie Campbell and Moran, but it was Aston who dominated, scoring the Big Red's first 10 points of the second half. The Big Red eventually went up by as many as 21 points, leading 70-49, with 5:39 to play in the game and rolled to the 79-61 victory.
 
SCOUTING LOYOLA: Loyola graduated three starters and four of its top six scorers from last season's team that finished the year with a 16-16 record overall and an 11-7 mark in Patriot League play. The Greyhounds were picked to finish seventh in the conference's preseason poll, while Bri Betz-White was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Betz-White ranked 14th in the Patriot League in scoring (10.4 points per game) and 10th in assists (2.4 per game) a year ago. The only other returning starter is senior Lisa Mirarchi, who ranked sixth on the team with 4.3 points per game. 
 
CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell is 44-57 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 (21-15), 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 19-16 after going 3-1 against the Patriot League over the past two seasons.
 
COACHING TENURE: Head coach Dayna Smith, in her 15th season at the helm of the Big Red program, ranks fourth 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.
 
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, in West Harford, Conn.
 
WHAT WAS LOST: The Big Red graduated one player from the 2015-16 squad – Maddie Campbell – and lost one other letter winner, as well as one non-letter winner. The trio accounted for an average of 9.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
WHAT REMAINS: Cornell returns four starters and three additional letter winners from last season's squad. The Big Red returns 84% of its scoring (1,451-of-1,725 points) and 77% of its rebounding (771-of-996) from a year ago.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red added eight players to the 2016-17 squad, the largest class ever brought to East Hill by Coach Smith. The group hails from eight different states and boasts four guards and four forwards.
 
HI, MY NAME IS: Cornell had a new face on the bench for the 2016-17 season, as Bobby Savino has joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Savino comes to Cornell after three years as the Director of Status Pro Athletics, an AAU basketball company featuring six teams and two tournaments. Savino also spent two years as an assistant coach for the boys' varsity team at the Cambridge School of Weston, as well as serving as a private basketball coach, training individuals and teams on the middle school and high school level.
 
WELCOME BACK: The women's basketball staff has a familiar face back among its ranks, as Jim Sheehan returns to the bench after spending the 2015 season as a member of the Big Red men's soccer staff. He had previously spent three seasons with the women's basketball staff working as the team's video coordinator and as an assistant coach.
 
PRESEASON IVY STANDINGS: The Big Red was picked to finish in fourth place in the 2016-17 Ivy League preseason media poll, the highest preseason poll ranking for the Big Red since the 2008 squad was tabbed to finish third. Defending Ivy League women's basketball champion Penn was unanimously selected to repeat as Ivy champs. The Quakers swept the first-place votes for a total of 136 points, the fifth team to accomplish the feat in League history and first since Princeton in 2010-11. The Tigers, the runners-up and NCAA Tournament at-large team a year ago, finished second with 110 points, followed by Harvard (104), Cornell (76), Dartmouth (66), Yale (56), Brown (40) and Columbia (24).
 
NOTING THE 2015-16 SEASON:
• The Big Red finished the year with a 14-14 record (6-8 Ivy).
• With its 8-6 non-conference record, Cornell earned a winning non-conference record for the fourth straight season, a feat that has never been accomplished in Cornell women's basketball history.
• As a team, the Big Red finished the year ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA in fewest turnovers (third – 350), assist/turnover ratio (21st – 1.22), fewest fouls (26th – 454), and assists per game (49th – 15.2).
• The Big Red finished the season ranked fifth in the Ivy League for the sixth consecutive season.
• Nia Marshall came just four points shy of setting the school record for points in a single season.
• Megan LeDuc finished the year with 118 assists, good for eighth all-time in Cornell for assists in a single season. 
• Caroline Shelquist wrapped up her rookie season with 43 3-pointers, good for 10th in Cornell history for 3-pointers in a single season. 
 
TICKLE THE ALL-IVY:  Nia Marshall was named second-team All-Ivy following her junior season.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT: Nia Marshall enters her senior season with 1,271 career points. She needs just 380 to break the school record, currently held by Karen Walker (1987-91). Over Marshall's three seasons with the Big Red, she has averaged 423 points per season. 
 
CORNELL TOP 10: Nia Marshall enters her senior season ranked in the top 10 in career  points (fifth), field goals made (fifth), career free throws made (seventh), career defensive rebounds (sixth), career steals (seventh), career blocked shots (fourth), and career starts (10th) … Kerri Moran is also in the top 10 in career assists (seventh).
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: For the second year in a row, Nia Marshall scored more than 400 points in a season, becoming just the third player in Cornell history to do it twice in a career – joining Karen Walker (1989-90, 1990-91) and Keri Farley (1994-95, 1992-93). Her 464 points in 2015-16 ranks second overall in Cornell women's basketball history, while her 455 points in 2014-15 is good for fourth overall.
 
TOP 10 ASSISTS:  Arguably the best backcourt duo in Cornell history, Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc enter the season ranked seventh and 13th, respectively, in career assists. LeDuc needs just nine more helpers to vault into the top 10, which would make Moran and LeDuc just the third pair of four-year teammates in Ivy League history to finish in the top 10 of their team's assist record list. The other Ivy duos are Brown's Julie Amato and Vita Redding (1995-99) and Dartmouth's Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara (2003-07).  
 
10 ASSISTS CLUB: Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc became the 11th and 12th players, respectively in Cornell history to have 10 assists in a single game, with Moran doing so vs. Towson on Dec. 2, 2015 and LeDuc doing so vs. Penn on Feb. 26, 2016. In total, 12 players have accounted for 23 double-digit assist performances in Cornell history.  
 
PERFECT 10: On Dec. 2, 2015 vs. Towson, Kerri Moran became the first player in Cornell history to post 10 assists, with zero turnovers, in a single game. Just over two months later, classmate Megan LeDuc accomplished the same feat with 10 assists and no turnovers vs. Penn on Feb. 26, 2016 … 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.
 
WELL ROUNDED: Nia Marshall became is just the second player in Cornell women's basketball history to record 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots in a career, joining Clare Fitzpatrick '13.  
 
COMEBACK KIDS: Cornell trailed at some point in 10 of its 14 victories during the 2015-16 season, including three games in which it trailed by double-digits.
 
100 THREES: 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.
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Big Red has held 59 of its 106 opponents (56 percent) to below 40 percent.
 
TIGHT LOSSES: During the 2015-16 season, six of Cornell's 14 losses came by nine or few points.
 
HANDLE WITH CARE: Last season, the Big Red ranked second in the Ivy League and third in the nation in fewest turnovers (35) and was ranked second in the conference and is 21st in the country with a 1.22 assist/turnover ratio … The Big Red was also second in the conference and 13th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.5).
 
MAY I ASSIST YOU: A year ago, Cornell ranked second in the Ivy League and 49th in the nation in assists per game (15.2) … Kerri Moran ranked third in the Ivy League and 35th nationally with a 2.17 assist/turnover ratio ... Megan LeDuc led the Ivy League and ranked 96th in the nation with 4.2 assists per game, while Moran ranked second in the conference and 119th in the country with 4.0 assists per game.
 
MAKING THE CONNECTION: Last season, Cornell ranked third in the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.409) … The Big Red was even better from beyond the arc, ranking second in the conference and 52nd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.338).
 
RULE FOLLOWERS: During the 2015-16 season, the Big Red ranked 26th in the nation in fewest fouls (454).
 
HOLDING THE LEAD: The Big Red was a perfect 9-0 record last season in games in which it led at halftime.
 
WINNING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: With an 8-6 non-conference record a year ago, the Big Red posted a winning non-conference slate for the fourth straight season. The four consecutive winning non-conference seasons is the most in program history.
 
1,000-POINT CLUB: With a 31-point performance vs. Binghamton on Dec. 30, 2015, Nia Marshall became the 14th 1,000-point scorer in Cornell women's basketball history.
 
40-MINUTE WOMEN:  Megan LeDuc has played at least 40 minutes in 10 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.
 
STARTING STREAK: Senior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 58 games. Marshall has started every game of her career, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red will hit the road for the first time this season, as travels for a mid-week contest at Colgate on Wednesday, Nov. 16, before heads to Towson for a contest on Saturday, Nov. 19. Cornell holds a 21-15 lead in the all-time series with the Raiders, having won nine of the last 10 contests against the Patriot League foe, including last season's 73-60 victory. The Big Red won the first-ever meeting with Towson a season ago with a dominant 88-60 performance in Newman Arena.