GAME INFORMATION
Game #22: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
Tipoff: Friday, Feb. 17, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
2016-17 Records: Cornell (12-9, 3-5 Ivy); Dartmouth (6-15, 1-7 Ivy)
Series Record: Dartmouth leads, 57-19
Last Meeting: Dartmouth won, 84-74, on Jan. 28, 2017 (Hanover, N.H.)
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Live Stats
 
Game #23: Cornell vs. Harvard
Tipoff: Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (4,473), Ithaca, N.Y.
* 2016-17 Records: Cornell (12-9, 3-5 Ivy); Harvard (18-3, 6-2 Ivy)
Series Record: Harvard leads, 66-11
Last Meeting: Harvard won, 62-59, on Jan. 27, 2016 (Cambridge, Mass.)
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Live Stats

* records prior to Friday evening's games
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red women's basketball team (12-9, 3-5 Ivy), coming off a pair of heartbreaking losses to Princeton and Penn last weekend, will look to rebound when it welcomes Dartmouth and Harvard to Newman Arena on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. The Big Green has lost four straight and enters the weekend with a record of 6-15 overall and 1-7 Ivy, while the Crimson defeated Yale and Brown last weekend to improve to 18-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference. Both games will be steamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
 
#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.
 
STORY LINES
• With Dartmouth's win earlier this season, the Big Green has won two in a row over Cornell for the first time since sweeping the Big Red during the 2009-10 season.
• Saturday'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).
• Cornell dropped the first meeting of the season with Harvard, 62-59, making it the fifth game in the past six meetings to be decided by six or fewer points.
 
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, 57-18, 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 10-9 lead over the past 19 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 before losing the first meeting of the 2016-17 season at Hanover.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: With more than 1,100 fans on hand to watch Dartmouth honor former women's basketball head coach Chris Wielgus, the Big Green used a commanding first half to jump out to an 18-point halftime lead that proved to be too much for Cornell to overcome, as the Big Red fell, 84-74, at Leede Arena. The Big Red stormed back in the second half, cutting the home team's lead to just five points with 3:30 to play, but could not come all the way back in falling to 11-6 overall and 2-2 in Ivy League play. Megan LeDuc matched a season-high with 19 points to lead the Big Red, connecting on 5-of-7 treys, to go along with a career- and team-high nine rebounds. With her five 3-pointers, LeDuc moves into fifth place in Cornell history with 122 for her career. Kerri Moran and Nia Marshall chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively, and handed out four assists apiece, while Samantha Widmann tallied 12 points off the bench.  Dartmouth was led by Fanni Szabo's 23 points, while Andi Norman (14) and Olivia Smith (12) both finished in double-digits. The Big Green finished with six extra rebounds (33-27) but two more turnovers than Cornell (10-8). The home team shot a blistering .585 from both the floor (31-53) and from 3-point range (10-17), while the Big Red overcame a 2-of-12 start to finish at .462 overall (30-65) and .450 from beyond the arc (9-20). 
 
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 65-11. 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 18 contests to Harvard.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: Harvard ran its winning streak to 15 games as it hung on to defeat the Big Red, 62-59, in Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Mass. The game was the fifth in the past six meetings to be decided by six or fewer points. Nicholle Aston led four Cornell players in double figures with 14 points, to go along with six rebounds. Megan LeDuc finished with 12 points and handed out six assists, while Kerri Moran tallied 11 points. Nia Marshall tallied her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. More than half of Harvard's points came from two players, as Sydney Skinner finished with a career-high 23 points, while Taylor Rooks chipped in 13. Forward Jeannie Boehm pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to help the home team to a 44-37 advantage on the boards. The game was incredibly close throughout, with 12 ties and 10 lead changes. Harvard connected on .381 percent from the floor (24-63) and .316 percent from 3-point range (6-19), while the Big Red hit just .355 percent overall (22-62), but was slightly better beyond the arc at .357 percent (5-14). The Crimson turned the ball over 13 times to Cornell's 12.
 
NOTING THE CLASS OF 2017:
• With 55 wins to date, the Class of 2017 is the second winningest class in program history … The group needs two more wins over the next six 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 (1,601 points / 662 rebounds) and Nicholle Aston (865 points / 534 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 (800 points / 395 assists) and Megan LeDuc (800 points / 319 assists) are two of just five players in Big Red history to reach at least 800 points and 300 assists … They are the only pair of four-year teammates at Cornell to accomplish the feat.
• Arguably one of the best backcourt duo in Ivy League history, Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc rank fourth and eighth, respectively, in career assists at Cornell. 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).  
 
CORNELL CAREER TOP 30:
Nia Marshall
Points (2nd; 1,601) – 49 pts to move into 1st
Field goals made (2nd; 609) – 31 FG to move into 1st
Defensive rebounds (2nd; 468) – 123 defensive rebs to move into 1st
Free throws made (2nd; 374) – 20 FT to move into 1st
Steals (2nd; 198) – 15 steals to move into 1st
Blocked shots (4th; 95) – 8 blocks to move into 3rd
Starts (4th; 104) – 3 starts to move into 3rd
Rebounds (5th; 662) – 60 rebounds to move into 4th
Offensive rebounds (5th; 194) – 22 offensive rebs to move into 4th
Minutes played (6th; 3300) – 32 minutes to move into 5th
Games played (12th; 105) – 1 game to move into 10th
Assists (24th; 158) – 7 assists to move into 23rd
Kerri Moran
Assists (4th; 395) 30 assists to move into 3rd
Games started (6th; 96) – 1 start to move into 5th
Minutes played (7th; 3245) – 55 to move into 6th
Games played (12th; 105) – 1 game to move into 10th
Defensive rebounds (16th; 276) – 2 to move into 15th
Steals (16th; 116) – 6 to move into 14th
Free throws made (17th; 187) – 3 FT to move into 16th
Points (21st; 800) – 30 pts to move into 20th
Field goals made (26th; 279) – 7 to move into 25th
3-Point field goals made (26th; 55) – 1 to move into 25th
Offensive rebounds (27th; 105) – 2 to move into 26th
Rebounds (28th; 381) – 28 to move into 27th
Megan LeDuc
3-Point FG (4th; 135) – 9 3FG to move into 3rd
Assists (8th; 319) – 17 assists to move into 7th
Games started (12th; 77) – 8 starts to move into 10th
Games played (12th; 105) – 1 game to move into 10th
Minutes played (14th; 3008) – 38 minutes to move into 13th
Defensive rebounds (17th; 269) – 2 defensive rebs to move into 16th
Steals (19th; 104) – 1 steal to move into 18th
Points (21st; 800) – 30 pts to move into 20th
Field goals made (27th; 271) – 8 to move into 26th
Nicholle Aston
Defensive rebounds (7th; 357) – 20 defensive rebs to move into 6th
Offensive rebounds (10th; 177) – 4 offensive rebs to move into 9th
Field goals made (13th; 388) – 18 FG to move into 12th
Rebounds (14th; 534) – 7 rebs to move into 13th
Games played (15th; 104) – 2 games to move into 10th
Games started (15th; 76) – 1 start to move into 12th
Blocks (18th; 37) – 1 block to move into 17th
Points (19th; 865) – 21 pts to move into 18^th
Minutes played (25th; 2497) – 51 minutes to move into 24th
 
TEAM NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, the Big Red ranked among the top 100 in the nation in …
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 86th (0.98)
• Fewest fouls – 30th (351)
• Fewest turnovers – 19th (307)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 5th (39.6)
• Turnover margin – 82nd (2.14)
• Turnovers per game – 94th (14.6)
 
INDIVIDUAL NCAA RANKGINGS: Entering the week, here's how Cornell players stack up nationwide …
Nia Marshall
• Field goal percentage – 201st (42.9)
• Points per game – 140th (15.7)
• Steals per game – 198th (1.86)
Megan LeDuc
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 184th (1.47)
• Assists per game – 227th (3.4)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 12th (.444)
• 3-point field goals per game – 98th (2.29)
• Minutes played per game – 109th (34.62)
Kerri Moran
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 62nd (2.07)
• Assists per game – 116th (4.3)
• Minutes played per game – 135th (34.29)
 
100 GAMES: Seniors Nicholle Aston, Megan LeDuc, Nia Marshall, and Kerri Moran all played in their 100th career game during the weekend of Jan. 27-28. LeDuc, Marshall and Moran hit the century mark vs. Harvard, while Aston reached 100 games the following night at Dartmouth.
 
STRONGEST START:
• With an 11-4 record to open the season, 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.
 
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: Over the past two seasons, the Big Red is 19-2 when leading at halftime.
• Cornell was a perfect 9-0 last season and began the 2016-17 campaign at 5-0 when leading at the half before a double-overtime loss to Stony Brook on Dec. 30 snapped the 14-game streak.
• Cornell is currently 10-2 this season when leading at halftime.
 
SCHOOL RECORD IN SIGHT: Nia Marshall enters the game ranked second in Cornell history, and 23rd in the Ivy League rankings, with 1,601 career points. She needs just 50 points to break the school record, currently held by Karen Walker (1987-91).
 
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 69 of its 125 opponents (55 percent) to below 40 percent, including 10-of-19 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 165 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 69-of-182 games (38 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 35-36 record (.492).
 
STARTING STREAK: Senior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 79 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 hits the road for the final pair of Ivy League regular season road games when it travels to Penn and Princeton. Cornell will take on the Quakers on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., before welcoming the Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.