GAME INFORMATION
Game #13: Cornell at Delaware State
Tipoff: Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Memorial Hall (2,000), Dover, Del.
2016-17 Records: Cornell (8-4, 0-0 Ivy); Delaware State (1-11, 0-0 MEAC)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 71-62, on Jan. 6, 2015 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
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Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball closes non-conference play this week when it travels to Delaware State to take on the Hornets on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. With a record of 8-4 heading into the contest Cornell has already secured its fifth straight winning non-conference record, and is attempting to match a school record with nine non-conference victories, set twice before (2007-08; 2014-15). Delaware State (1-11) brings an eight-game losing streak into the contest.
 
THE SERIES VS. DELAWARE STATE: Cornell played the Hornets three times in the early 1990s, losing the first meeting in 1991, before taking back-to-back victories in 1992 (64-58) and 1993 (70-56). The series resumed a year ago with the Big Red improving to 3-1 with a 71-62 victory in Newman Arena.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE HORNETS: For the fourth straight season, the Big Red closed its non-conference slate with a winning record after downing Delaware State, 71-62, in Newman Arena on Jan. 6, 2016. Cornell never trailed and led by as many as 18 points late in the third period as it improved its record to 8-6 on the season. The forward tandem of Nia Marshall and Nicholle Aston led the Big Red, as each registered a double-double. Marshall finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, while Aston tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds and one steal. Not to be outdone, the backcourt duo of Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc were outstanding, with Moran finishing with 15 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and seven assists, while LeDuc tallied nine points, a season-high nine assists, and two steals. Delaware State (3-10) was led by Mikah Aldridge and Amber Bogard with 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Najai Pollard pulled down 13 rebounds. Cornell won nearly every aspect of the game, outrebounding the Hornets (41-34) and posting two fewer turnovers (13-11). The Big Red also held the edge in points in the paint (20-16), points off turnovers (9-8), and fast break points (6-0). The home team shot .434 from the floor (25-53) and .462 percent from 3-point range (6-13), while holding DSU to .379 percent overall (22-58) and .316 percent from beyond the arc (6-19). Cornell also assisted on 20-of-23 baskets.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS: Delaware State (1-11) enters the game with the Big Red on an eight-game losing streak. The Hornets lone win on the season came in a 61-49 decision at Wagner on Nov. 20. Sophomore forward Najai Pollard is averaging a double-double with 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while junior guard Mikah Aldridge is chipping in 12.8 points per game. The reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year, Pollard is also leading the team in field goal percentage (.547) and blocked shots (2.1 per game), while Aldridge is leading the team in 3-point field goals made (1.7 per game) and steals (1.8 per game).
 
CORNELL VS. THE MEAC: Cornell has an 11-7 all-time record against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, including a mark of 3-1 vs. Delaware State. The Big Red has faced Bethune-Cookman (0-1), Coppin State (2-3), Howard (3-1), Maryland Eastern-Shore (1-0), and Morgan State (2-1), while never having met Florida A&M, Hampton, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Savannah State and South Carolina State. Coach Smith is 7-4 all-time against MEAC teams.
 
A WIN WOULD:
• improve Cornell to 9-4 this season, tying the school record for non-conference wins.
• give the Big Red a 5-3 record on the road.
• improve Cornell's record vs. Delaware State to 4-1.
• be the fourth in a row over the Bearcats.
• give Cornell a 12-7 record all-time vs. the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
• make Coach Smith 8-4 all-time vs. the MEAC.
 
NON-CONFERENCE WINS:
• With its 8-4 record heading into its final non-conference game, the Big Red has secured a winning non-conference record for the fifth consecutive season, the longest streak in program history.
• The 2016-17 squad needs just one more win to match the most non-conference wins in program history (9), set twice before (2007-08; 2014-15).
• In total, the Cornell women's basketball program has posted eight or more non-conference wins 10 times, more than half (6) have come during head coach Dayna Smith's tenure.
 
WINS AFTER A LOSS: With its win against Binghamton on Jan. 1, Cornell improved to 4-0 this season in games following a loss.
 
STRONGEST START:
• 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.
 
FIVE-WIN NOVEMBER:
• Cornell went 5-1 in November, the most wins ever achieved by the program in the month of November.
• The Big Red had previously won four games in the month of November in 1999-00, 2012-13, 2013-14.
• Three of the four winningest Novembers have come during head coach Dayna Smith's tenure.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOTES:
• Nia Marshall has been named the Ivy League Player of the Week (POW) twice this season (Dec. 19, 2016; Jan. 2, 2017), giving her eight POW awards in her career.
• Marshall's eight POW awards are a Cornell record, surpassing Allyson DiMagno and Mary LaMacchia, who previously held the record with six honors apiece.
• Marshall now ranks ninth 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 12 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.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK NOTES:
• Danielle Jorgenson was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 19 after helping the Big Red defeat Youngstown State, 80-75.
• Samantha Widmann was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Nov. 14 after scoring 14 points to help the Big Red comeback to defeat Loyola, 58-50.
• Danielle Jorgenson and Samantha Widmann become the first pair of Cornell freshman to win the award in the same season since Allie Munson and Allison Abt did so during the 2008-09 campaign.
• Caroline Shelquist was one of just eight Cornell women's basketball players to win Rookie of the Week honors twice in a career.
• Last season, Shelquist became the Big Red's first repeat Rookie of the Week winner since Nia Marshall took home the award on Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, 2014.
 
IVY HONOR SWEEP: Nia Marshall and Danielle Jorgenson were named the Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Dec. 19 to give Cornell its first Ivy League honors sweep since Marshall took home both awards on Feb. 3, 2014.  
 
STUDYING THE OPPONENTS: Since the 1980-81 season, the Big Red is 15-21 coming out of Cornell's two-week study break, thanks mostly to Coach Smith's teams, which have posted a 10-5 mark in the first game back from exams.
 
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.
 
HOLDING THE LEAD: Prior to its double-overtime loss to Stony Brook on Dec. 30, the Big Red had won 14 straight contests when leading at the half, dating back to a loss to Harvard on Feb. 27, 2015.
• Cornell was a perfect 9-0 last season and began the 2016-17 campaign at 5-0 when leading at the half.
• After holding the lead to defeat Binghamton on Jan. 1, Cornell improved to 6-1 this season when leading at halftime.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT: Nia Marshall enters the game ranked second in Cornell history, and 31st in the Ivy League rankings, with 1,452 career points. She needs just 199 to break the school record, currently held by Karen Walker (1987-91).
 
CORNELL CAREER TOP 10:
Nia Marshall
Points (2nd; 1,452) – 199 pts to move into 1st
Field goals made (2nd; 548) – 92 FG to move into 1st
Free throws made (3rd; 349) – 7 FT to move into 2nd
Blocked shots (4th; 91) – 13 blocks to move into 3rd
Defensive rebounds (2nd; 433) – 158 defensive rebs to move into 1st
Steals (4th; 188) – 5 steals to move into 3rd
Starts (5th; 95) – 2 starts to move into 4th
Rebounds (6th; 609) – 8 rebounds to move into 5th
Offensive rebounds (9th; 176) – 5 offensive rebs to move into 9th
Kerri Moran
Assists (5th; 359) 34 assists to move into 4th
Career games started (8th; 87) – 4 starts to move into 7th
Megan LeDuc
Assists (9th; 294) – 1 assist to move into 8th
3-Point FG (7th; 112) – 1 3FG to move into 6th
 
TEAM NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, the Big Red ranked among the top 100 in the nation in …
• Fewest fouls – 82nd (207)
• Scoring defense – 82nd (59.3)
• 3-point field goal defense – 38th (27.3)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 18th (38.8)
 
INDIVIDUAL NCAA RANKGINGS: Entering the week, here's how Cornell players stack up nationwide …
Nia Marshall
• Blocked shots per game – 243rd (1.00)
• Field goal percentage – 218th (42.2)
• Free throws made – 84th (49)
• Points per game – 179th (15.1)
• Rebounds per game – 202nd (7.3)
• Steals – 108th (29)
• Steals per game – 75th (2.42)
Megan LeDuc
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 218th (1.38)
• Assists per game – 177th (3.9)
• Minutes played per game – 72nd (35.08)
• Steals per game – 164th (2.00)
• 3-point field goals per game – 153rd (2.08)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 53rd (41.7)
Kerri Moran
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 91st (2.00)
• Assists – 125th (55)
• Assists per game – 83rd (4.6)
• Minutes played per game – 85th (34.75)
 
TOP 10 ASSISTS:  Arguably the best backcourt duo in Cornell history, Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc enter the week ranked fifth and ninth, 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 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 66 of its 118 opponents (56 percent) to below 40 percent, including 7-of-12 games so far this season.
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: In each of the past two seasons, Nia Marshall scored more than 400 points, 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.
 
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 161 career victories.
 
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 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 64-of-173 games (37 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 34-32 record (.515).
 
STARTING STREAK: Senior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 70 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 return home for the first time in 2017 when it opens up Ivy League play vs. Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. The game will be part of a double-header with the men tipping off vs. the Lions at 4 p.m.