GAME INFORMATION
Game #16: Cornell at Harvard
Tipoff: Friday, Jan. 27, at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Lavietes Pavilion(2,195), Cambridge, Mass.
2016-17 Records: Cornell (11-4, 2-0 Ivy); Harvard (14-1, 2-0 Ivy)
Series Record: Harvard leads, 65-11
Last Meeting: Harvard won, 68-63, on Feb. 20, 2016 (Cambridge, Mass.)
Live Video
Live Stats
 
Game #17: Cornell at Dartmouth
Tipoff: Saturday, Jan. 28, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Leede Arena (2,100), Hanover, N.H.
* 2016-17 Records: Cornell (11-4, 2-0 Ivy); Dartmouth (5-10, 0-2 Ivy)
Series Record: Dartmouth leads, 59-16
Last Meeting: Dartmouth won, 60-52, on Feb. 19, 2016 (Hanover, N.H.)
Live Video
Live Stats

* records prior to Friday evening's games
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team continues its #PathToThePalestra this weekend when it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Cornell enters the game riding a four-game winning streak and with an 11-4 record overall (2-0 Ivy), its best start though 15 games in program history. The Crimson have won 14 straight and sit tied with the Big Red for second overall in the Ivy League standings with a record of 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Big Green is 5-10 overall (0-2 Ivy) but three of the squad's five victories have come at Leede Arena, where they've also won two in a row against the Big Red. Both games will be simulcast live on the Ivy League Digital Network and on ESPN3.
 
STORY LINES
• Seniors Nicholle Aston, Megan LeDuc, Nia Marshall, and Kerri Moran are all slated to play in their 100th career game this weekend. Standing at 99 games played, LeDuc, Marshall and Moran will hit the century mark vs. Harvard, while Aston will reach 100 games played on Saturday at Dartmouth.
• Cornell is undefeated in the month of January (4-0) and is riding its longest winning streak of the season at four games … It's the team's longest since winning six straight from Dec. 30, 2014 to Jan. 30, 2015.
• With 11 wins, Cornell is off to its best start through 15 games in the history of the program … The Big Red had started a season at 10-5 twice previously – 1999-2000 and 2014-15.
• Friday's game features the two longest tenured active coaches in the Ivy League, with Harvard's Kathy Delaney-Smith (34th season) and Cornell's Dayna Smith (15th season).
  
#PATHTOTHEPALESTRA: The inaugural Ivy League men's and women's basketball tournaments will take place Saturday and Sunday, March 11-12, 2017, at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The top four teams will earn berths to the tournament, with the semifinals on Saturday and the championships on Sunday. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For more information, visit www.IvyMadness.com
 
THE SERIES VS. HARVARD: The Big Red first played Harvard in the 1974-75 season with Cornell winning the contest, 36-20, but from there, the Crimson has controlled the series, leading the Big Red 64-11, including a perfect 34-0 in contests against Cornell played in Cambridge, Mass. The Big Red snapped a seven-game skid to the Crimson in the first meeting of the 2007-08 season with an 85-61 victory at Newman Arena, but have dropped the past 17 contests to Harvard.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: A surging Harvard women's basketball team won its fourth straight, edging the Big Red, 68-63, in Lavietes Pavilion on Feb. 20, 2016. The game was tightly contested throughout, with 15 ties and six lead changes, before the Crimson scored seven unanswered points to close the third and open the fourth period to take a lead it would not relinquish. Megan LeDuc made it a one-point game (58-57) with a 3-pointer from the corner with 3:50 to play in the contest, but Kit Metoyer responded on the Crimson's next trip down the court to keep Cornell at bay. Cornell (13-11, 5-5) was led by Nia Marshall's 16 points and nine rebounds, while Maddie Campbell finished with 10 points and eight boards. With her nine rebounds, Marshall became just the second player in Cornell history to amass 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots, joining Clare Fitzpatrick. Both LeDuc and Caroline Shelquist finished with nine points and accounted for the Big Red's 5-of-14 performance from beyond the arc (.357). Harvard had three double-digit scorers – Shilpa Tummala (15), Metoyer (14) and AnnMarie Healy (14). Metoyer also added a team-high seven rebounds.
 
THE SERIES VS.DARTMOUTH: Cornell's rivalry with Dartmouth began in the 1976-77 season when the Big Red squeaked out a 50-49 victory, but the Big Green has dominated ever since. Dartmouth holds the advantage in the all-time series, 56-18, but had an 11-game winning streak ended during the 2007-08 season when the Big Red earned a 50-43 victory at Newman Arena. Since that time, the two teams have been fairly even, with Cornell holding the 10-8 lead over the past 18 meetings, with five of those games being decided by four or fewer points. The Big Red had a five-game winning streak, the longest by Cornell in the history of the series, ended in 2014-15 at Leede Arena, but split a pair of games a year ago.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: The Big Red erased an 18-deficit to get back within three points with less than two minutes to play, but could not complete the comeback as Dartmouth escaped with the 60-52 in Leede Arena on Feb. 19, 2016. Nia Marshall, who started the day ranked 11th in Cornell history for career points, finished with a game-high 22 points to move all the way to eighth overall (1,208). The 22 points also put the junior forward at 401 points for the season, good for 13th overall in Cornell history and making her just the third Big Red player to reach 400 points in a season twice in a career. Marshall also added six rebounds, two assists and one block. Nicholle Aston and Megan LeDuc finished with nine points apiece. Dartmouth had three players in double-figures, led by Lakin Roland's 18 points. Kate Letkewicz and Fanni Szabo finished with 16 and 11, respectively, while Szabo added a team-high eight rebounds. Cornell held the edge in rebounds (31-25) but could not overcome its poor shooting night, finishing at .352 percent (19-54), while the Big Green connected on .522 percent overall (24-46) and half of its 3-point attempts (6-12). Both teams finished with 10 turnovers. The Big Green shot nearly 70 percent in the first period to jump out to a 25-9 lead, forcing Cornell to play catch-up over the final 30 minutes, which it nearly did when Aston and LeDuc connected on consecutive trips down the court to make it a 55-52 game with 1:45 to play. Roland answered on Dartmouth's next possession and the Big Red did not score again as Amber Mixon hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to account for the 60-52 final. Cornell used some impressive defense in the final period, holding the Big Green to just three baskets (3-10) and none from 3-point range (0-3), but it was the Big Red's offensive struggles early on that doomed the visitors.
 
NOTING THE CLASS OF 2017:
• With 54 wins to date, the Class of 2017 is tied with the Class of 2015 as the second winningest class in program history … The group needs three more wins over the next 12 contests to eclipse the school record of 56, held by the Class of 2016.
• Seniors Nia Marshall, Nicholle Aston, Kerri Moran, and Megan LeDuc all rank among the top 30 in Big Red history for career points … There are just six pairs of four-year teammates in Cornell history to rank among the top 30, but there have never been three or more four-year teammates prior to this season. 
• Nia Marshall (1,507 points / 619 rebounds) and Nicholle Aston (818 points / 505 rebounds) are two of just 12 players in Big Red history to reach at least 800 points and 500 rebounds … They are the only pair of four-year teammates at Cornell to accomplish the feat.
• Kerri Moran (752 points / 373 assists) and Megan LeDuc (704 points / 303 assists) are two of just six players in Big Red history to reach at least 700 points and 300 assists … They are the only pair of four-year teammates at Cornell to accomplish the feat.
 
CORNELL CAREER TOP 30:
Nia Marshall
Points (2nd; 1,507) – 144 pts to move into 1st
Field goals made (2nd; 571) – 69 FG to move into 1st
Defensive rebounds (2nd; 438) – 153 defensive rebs to move into 1st
Free throws made (2nd; 357) – 38 FT to move into 1st
Blocked shots (4th; 92) – 12 blocks to move into 3rd
Steals (4th; 191) – 2 steals to move into 3rd
Starts (4th; 98) – 9 starts to move into 3rd
Rebounds (5th; 619) – 103 rebounds to move into 4th
Offensive rebounds (8th; 181) – 2 offensive rebs to move into 7th
Minutes played (11th; 3086) – 10 minutes to move into 10th
Assists (29th; 147) – 1 assist to move into 28th
Games played (29th; 99) – 1 game to move into 24th
Kerri Moran
Assists (5th; 373) 20 assists to move into 4th
Games started (8th; 90) – 1 start to move into 7th
Minutes played (12th; 3042) – 44 to move into 10th
Defensive rebounds (16th; 262) – 16 to move into 15th
Steals (17th; 110) – 3 to move into 16th
Free throws made (18th; 176) – 2 FT to move into 17th
Points (25th; 752) – 5pts to move into 24th
Field goals made (26th; 264) – 22 to move into 25th
Games played (29th; 99) – 1 to move into 24th
3-Point field goals made (30th; 48) – 1 to move into 28th
Megan LeDuc
3-Point FG (6th; 115) – 6 3FG to move into 5th
Assists (8th; 303) – 33 assists to move into 7th
Minutes played (19th; 2788) – 15 minutes to move into 18th
Games started (19th; 71) – 1 start to move into 18th
Defensive rebounds (21st; 247) – 8 defensive rebs to move into 20th
Steals (21st; 99) – 2 steals to move into 20th
Games played (29th; 99) – 1 games to move into 24th
Points (30th; 704) – 13 pts to move into 29th
Nicholle Aston
Defensive rebounds (10th; 338) – 6 defensive rebs to move into 9th
Offensive rebounds (12th; 167) – 5 offensive rebs to move into 11th
Field goals made (15th; 368) – 17 FG to move into 14th
Rebounds (15th; 505) – 22 rebs to move into 14th
Blocks (18th; 37) – 1 block to move into 17th
Points (20th; 818) – 12 pts to move into 19th
Games started (20th; 70) – 1 start to move into 19th
Minutes played (28th; 2351) – 10 minutes to move into 27th
 
TEAM NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, the Big Red ranked among the top 100 in the nation in …
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 98th (0.96)
• Assists per game – 97th (14.8)
• Fewest fouls – 14th (252)
• Fewest turnovers – 10th (232)
• Field goal percentage – 85th (.424)
• Scoring defense – 63rd (59.2)
• 3-point field goal defense – 65th (28.8)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 5th (39.7)
• Turnover margin – 94th (1.87)
 
INDIVIDUAL NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, here's how Cornell players stack up nationwide …
Nia Marshall
• Field goal percentage – 187th (43.6)
• Points per game – 141st (15.7)
• Steals per game – 110th (2.13)
Megan LeDuc
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 182nd (1.47)
• Assists per game – 192nd (3.7)
• Steals per game – 205th (1.87)
• 3-point field goals per game – 244th (1.87)
Kerri Moran
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 63rd (2.09)
• Assists per game – 84th (4.6)
• Minutes played per game – 109th (34.47)
 
100 GAMES: Seniors Nicholle Aston, Megan LeDuc, Nia Marshall, and Kerri Moran are all slated to play in their 100th career game this weekend. Standing at 99 games played, LeDuc, Marshall and Moran will hit the century mark vs. Harvard, while Aston will reach 100 games played on Saturday at Dartmouth.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES:
• Nia Marshall has been named the Ivy League Player of the Week (POW) three times this season (Dec. 19, 2016; Jan. 2, 2017, Jan. 23, 2017), giving her nine POW awards in her career.
• Marshall's nine POW awards are a Cornell record, surpassing Allyson DiMagno and Mary LaMacchia, who previously held the record with six honors apiece.
• Marshall now ranks eighth in Ivy League history for conference POW honors.
• Megan LeDuc (Jan. 18, 2016) and Nicholle Aston (Jan. 26, 2015) are the only current Big Red players other than Marshall to be named Ivy POW.
• In addition to Marshall's POW honors, she was named the Ivy Rookie of the Week (ROW) five times during the 2013-14 season, giving her 14 total Ivy weekly awards to her credit, passing Jeomi Maduka who was honored 10 times by the conference (seven ROW; three POW).
• Marshall was named Ivy League POW four times in 2014-15 (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.
• Nia Marshall was also named POW on Feb. 3, 2014, to become the first-ever Cornell freshman to take home the honor.
 
STRONGEST START:
• With its 11-4 start record, Cornell got off to its best start through 15 games in the history of the program … The Big Red had started a season at 10-5 twice previously – 1999-2000 and 2014-15.
• Through the first 10 games of the season, the Big Red posted a 7-3 record, matching the best start in program history.
• The 7-3 start was the best ever under head coach Dayna Smith.
• Cornell has posted a 7-3 record to start a season twice before – 1972-73 and 1999-2000.
 
HOLDING THE LEAD: Over the past two seasons, the Big Red is 18-1 when leading at halftime, with the lone blemish coming in its double-overtime loss to Stony Brook on Dec. 30, which snapped a 14-game winning streak.
• Cornell was a perfect 9-0 last season and began the 2016-17 campaign at 5-0 when leading at the half.
• Cornell is currently 9-1 this season when leading at halftime.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT: Nia Marshall enters the game ranked second in Cornell history, and 28th in the Ivy League rankings, with 1,507 career points. She needs just 144 points to break the school record, currently held by Karen Walker (1987-91).
 
TOP 10 ASSISTS:  Arguably the best backcourt duo in Cornell history, Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc enter the week ranked fifth and eighth, respectively, in career assists. They are 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).  
 
WELL ROUNDED: Nia Marshall is the only player in Cornell women's basketball history to record at least 1,300 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots in a career.  
 
LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Big Red has held 67 of its 121 opponents (56 percent) to below 40 percent, including 8-of-15 games so far this season (53 percent).
 
150 WINS AND COUNTING: Head Coach Dayna Smith is the winningest coach in Cornell history, and reached the 150-win mark for her career with the team's overtime victory vs. Dartmouth on Jan. 30, 2016. She currently stands at 164 career victories.
 
40-MINUTE WOMEN:  Megan LeDuc has played at least 40 minutes in 11 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.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Big Red has had 65-of-176 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 35-32 record (.522).
 
STARTING STREAK: Senior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 73 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 wraps up its five-game road trip when the squad heads to Brown and Yale next weekend. Cornell will face the Bears on Friday, Feb. 3, before taking on the Big Green on Saturday, Feb. 4. Both games are slated to tip off at 6 p.m.