GAME INFORMATION
Game #26: Cornell vs. Yale
Tipoff: Friday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2016-17 Records: Cornell (15-10, 6-6 Ivy); Yale (11-11, 5-7 Ivy)
Series Record: Yale leads, 50-26
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 76-63, on Feb. 4, 2017 (New Haven, Conn.)
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Live Stats
 
Game #27: Cornell vs. Brown
Tipoff: Saturday, March 4, at 5:00 p.m.
Site: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.).)
* 2016-17 Records: Cornell (15-10, 6-6 Ivy); Brown (11-11, 5-7 Ivy)
Series Record: Brown leads, 50-25
Last Meeting: Brown won, 72-67, on Feb. 3, 2017 (Providence, R.I.)
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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 (15-10, 6-6 Ivy) earned a hard-fought split at Penn and Princeton last weekend to move into fourth place in the conference standings, a finish that would give it the final spot in the first-ever Ivy League Basketball Tournament. Standing in its way, however, is a pair of teams that sit just one game back in the standings – Yale (14-11, 5-7 Ivy) and Brown (14-11, 5-7 Ivy). Cornell will welcome the Bulldogs on Friday at 6 p.m., and Brown on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will be steamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, with Friday evening's game being simulcast on ESPN3.
 
The weekend will also feature a pair of special celebrations. Prior to Friday night's contest, senior forward Nia Marshall will be honored for breaking the Cornell women's basketball scoring record of 1,650 career points, a mark that had been held by Karen Walker '91 for 26 years. The following night, Marshall and her fellow seniors Nicholle Aston, Megan LeDuc, Kerri Moran, and Ithaca native Taylor DePalma will be honored prior to the game during the team's Senior Night celebration.
 
#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:
• Cornell enters the weekend with a record of 6-6 in the Ivy League and is fighting to earn a spot in the first-ever Ivy League Basketball Tournament.
• There are nine different scenarios for which team will get the final spot in the Ivy League Basketball Tournament, but the simplest route for the Big Red is to defeat both Yale and Brown this weekend.
• The Big Red enters the weekend with 15 wins overall and six wins in the Ivy League. The team needs just one more victory to post the most wins in a season overall and in conference since the 2007-08 team went 20-9 overall and 11-3 in the Ivy League.
• Cornell is looking for its first season-sweep of Yale since the Big Red won both games during the 2008-09.
• Despite going seven seasons without a sweep, Cornell recently won two in a row in the series when it defeated the Bulldogs in the final game of the 2014-15 season and the first game of the 2015-16 season.
• Brown earned a win over Cornell earlier this season and enters the weekend seeking its first sweep of the Big Red since the 2008-09 campaign. 

SENIOR DAY SALUTE: The Big Red will honor the winningest class in program history when it celebrates Senior Day on Saturday vs. Brown, as Nicholle Aston, Taylor DePalma, Megan LeDuc, Nia Marshall and Kerri Moran will play their final game at Newman Arena.

NOTING THE CLASS OF 2017:
• With 58 wins to date, the Class of 2017 is the winningest class in program history, surpassing the Class of 2016 that won 56 games.
• 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 (1,657 points / 692 rebounds) and Nicholle Aston (906 points / 557 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.
• Nia Marshall (1,657 points) and Nicholle Aston (906 points) are the highest scoring teammates in the history of Cornell women's basketball with 2,563 points. They surpassed Do Stevens (1,327 points) and Breaean Walas (982 points), who played together from 1998-2002 and combined for 2,309 points.
• Kerri Moran (831 points / 410 assists) and Megan LeDuc (838 points / 332 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 fourth 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), Cornell's Do Stevens and Breean Walas (1998-2002), Dartmouth's Ashley Taylor and Fatima Kamara (2003-07).
  
THE SERIES VS. YALE: Cornell first faced the Bulldogs in the 1974-75 season, with Yale taking the 31-23 victory. Since 2000, the Big Red holds the slim one-game lead in the series (16-15). The teams have split the series in each of the last three seasons, with Cornell winning earlier this season in New Haven for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. Yale owns the lead in the all-time series history, 50-26, but Head Coach Dayna Smith is 13-16 all-time vs. the Bulldogs.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: After going 1-5 to open the Ivy League season, Yale has responded in a big way, including its current three-game winning streak with victories over Penn, Harvard and Dartmouth, to pull its conference record to 5-7 and claw its way to fifth place in the Ivy League standings. The Bulldogs have been outstanding at home, going 7-4, but have managed only one conference road victory with a 57-50 win at Dartmouth on Feb. 11. The team features a pair of top 10 Ivy scorers in Jen Berkowitz (6th – 14.0 ppg.) and Lena Munzer (10th – 12.7 ppg.), with Berkowitz also ranking 10th overall in rebound (6.9 rpg.). Berkowitz gets her points around the rim and her .522 shooting percentage leads the Ivy League, while Munzer is a dangerous 3-point shooting threat, connecting at t a .384 clip, which is good for fourth in the conference.
 
LAST TIME VS. YALE: Coming off a tough loss at Brown the previous evening, the Big Red responded in a big way, leading wire-to-wire and snapping a seven-game losing streak in New Haven to down Yale, 76-63.  The victory was a total team effort, with four Big Red finishing in double-figures. Nia Marshall led the way with 18 points, moving into 24th place in Ivy League history for career points by passing Yale's Sue Johnson (1982-86). The senior forward also finished with nine rebounds and two assists. Megan LeDuc tallied 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Nicholle Aston chipped in 14 points and nine boards. Kerri Moran rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points to go along with eight assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Yale was led by Lena Munzer's career-high 25 points, while Roxy Barahman chipped in 11. The Big Red shot .464 percent overall (26-56) and a solid .444 percent from 3-point range (8-18), while holding Yale to .390 from the floor (23-59) and a mere .250 percent from beyond the arc (5-20). The Big Red's offense clicked throughout the game, assisting on 18-of-26 baskets. Yale, on the other hand, assisted on just 6-of-23.
 
THE SERIES VS. BROWN: Cornell's rivalry with the Bears began in the 1974-75 season when Brown defeated the Big Red, 34-30. The Bears dominated the series during the first 20 years, with Cornell winning only three times prior to the 1994-95 season en route to a 50-25 advantage in the all-time series. Since that year, the series has been far more competitive, with Brown holding the slim one-game lead (23-22).  Cornell has won six of the last 10 meetings and head Coach Dayna Smith is 13-16 all-time vs. the Bears.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown got off to a hot start in Ivy League play, but have dropped its last four games to slip to 5-7 in the conference and fifth overall in the rankings. Nearly all of the Bears' Ivy contests have come down to the wire, with 9-of-12 being decided by 10 or fewer points, including one overtime contest. The team has the top scoring offense in the Ivy League (72.0 ppg.) and also leads the circuit in field goal percentage (.411), 3-point field goals made (7.1), and turnover margin ( 1.80). Brown is extremely young, with freshman Justine Gaziano leading the team and ranking second in the Ivy League in scoring (17.6 ppg), while sophomores Shayna Mehta (14.6 ppg.) and Taylor Will (12.8) rank fourth and eighth, respectively. Another sophomore, Erika Steeves, leads the team in rebounding (8.5 rpg.
 
LAST TIME VS. BROWN: In a game that saw 13 lead changes, it was a late run by the home team that helped Brown edge the Big Red, 72-67, at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence. Nia Marshall led the Big Red with 22 points, moving into 25th place in Ivy League women's basketball history, passing Ann Deacon of Dartmouth (1970-83). She added seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists to the effort. Freshman Samantha Widmann had an outstanding game off the bench, registering 11 points, a team-high eight rebounds, three steals, and drew two charges before fouling out with just over five minutes to play in the contest. Megan LeDuc finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman Maddy Reed chipped in five points and seven rebounds. Nicholle Aston also had a solid game with six points, five rebounds, a career-high five assists, and one steal. Justine Gaziano seemingly hit every big shot for Brown and finished with 27 points, going 11-of-16 from the floor, including a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range. Will Taylor was the only other Bear in double figures with 14 points. Brown shot .474 overall (27-57) and a blistering .458 from beyond the arc (11-24). The homes team also assisted on 17-of-27 baskets. The Big Red got off to a slow start over the first 10 minutes (7-26) and finished at .338 percent for the game (24-71) and just .333 from beyond the arc (5-15). Cornell's defense was impressive, forcing Brown into 18 turnovers with eight steals, leading to a 21-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
TOP OF THE CHARTS: Nia Marshall broke the Cornell scoring record last weekend, eclipsing the mark of 1,650 set by Karen Walker '91. She enters the game ranked 17th in the Ivy League, with 1,657 career points. She needs just 26 points to move into 16th place, surpassing Yale's Mary Kalich (1991-95).
 
ONE FOR THE AGES: When Nia Marshall broke the Cornell all-time scoring record vs. Princeton on Feb. 25 she was 22 years, 4 months and 24 days old. The record she broke, set by Karen Walker '91 on March 2, 1991, was 25 years, 11 months, and 23 days old.
 
THE 400-POINT CLUB: Nia Marshall needs just 16 points over the final weekend of the regular season to become the first player in Big Red history to score 400 points three times in a career. Marshall is 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.
 
SEASON STANDINGS:  Several players rank in the top 20 of the Big Red's single-season records …
Nia Marshall
Points – 19th; 386
Scoring Average – 13th; 15.4
Field Goals Made – 16th; 143
Free Throws Made – 17th; 96
Defensive Rebounds – 18th; 122
Blocked Shots – 19th; 22
Megan LeDuc
3-Point Field Goals Made – 5th; 53
3-Point Field Goal Percentage – 6th; .427
Minutes Average – 9th; 34.8
Kerri Moran
Free Throws Percentage – 7th; .849
Assists – 14th; 106
Assist Average – 11th; 4.2
Minutes Average – 16th; 34.0
Nicholle Aston
Field Goal Percentage – 18th; .484
Caroline Shelquist
3-Point Field Goal Percentage – 11th; .400
 
WINNING ON THE ROAD: With its victory over Princeton on Feb. 25, the Big Red improved to 8-7 on the road, earning its first winning road record since the 2007-08 team went 8-6.

CORNELL CAREER TOP 30:
Nia Marshall
Points – 1st; 1,657
Free throws made – 1st; 396
Field goals made – 2nd; 626 (14 from 1st)
Defensive rebounds – 2nd; 494 (97 from 1st)
Steals – 2nd; 202 (11 from 1st)
Blocked shots – 4th; 101 (3 from 3rd)
Starts – 3rd; 108 (1 from 1st)
Rebounds – 5th; 692 (30 from 4th)
Offensive rebounds – 5th; 198 (18 from 4th)
Minutes played – 4th; 3434 (35 from 3rd)
Games played – 6th; 109 (2 from 3rd)
Assists – 23rd; 165 (9 from 22nd)
Kerri Moran
Assists – 4th; 410 (15 from 3rd)
Games started – 5th; 100 (6 from 4th)
Minutes played – 6th; 3374 (44 from 5th)
Games played – 6th; 109 (2 from 3rd)
Defensive rebounds – 15th; 226 (10 from 14th)
Steals – 16th; 120 (2 from 14th)
Free throws made – 16th; 192 (5 from 15th)
Points – 21st; 831 (7 from 20th)
Field goals made – 23rd; 291 (5 from 22nd)
3-Point field goals made – 26th; 57 (2 from 24th)
Offensive rebounds – 26th; 110 (1 from 24th)
Rebounds – 28th; 396 (13 from 27th)
Megan LeDuc
3-Point FG – 4th; 140 (4 from 3rd)
Assists – 8th; 332 (4 from 7th)
Games played – 6th; 109 (2 from 3rd)
Games started – 12th; 81 (4 from 10th)
Minutes played – 10th; 3151 (23 from 9th)
Defensive rebounds – 14th; 289 (28 from 13th)
Steals – 18th; 111 (2 from 17th)
Points – 20th; 838 (48 from 19th)
Field goals made – 26th; 286 (2 from 25th)
Nicholle Aston
Defensive rebounds – 7th; 372 (5 from 6th)
Offensive rebounds – 7th; 185 (7 from 6th)
Field goals made – 13th; 405 (1 from 12th)
Rebounds – 12th; 557 (8 from 11th)
Games played – 10th; 108
Games started – 13th; 80 (5 from10th)
Blocks – 15th; 40 (4 from 14th)
Points – 17th; 906 (6 from 16th)
Minutes played – 23rd; 2600 (9 from 22nd)
 
TEAM NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, the Big Red ranked among the top 100 in the nation in …
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 93rd (0.98)
• Fewest fouls – 19th (40)
• Fewest turnovers – 22nd (360)
• Personal fouls per game – 77th (16.0)
• Scoring defense – 67th (59.5)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 15th (37.7)
• Turnover margin – 91st (1.80)
• Turnovers per game – 82nd (14.4)
 
INDIVIDUAL NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, here's how Cornell players stack up nationwide …
Nia Marshall
• Field goal percentage – 236th (41.1)
• Free throws made – 145th (96)
• Points per game – 165th (15.4)
• Steals per game – 242nd (1.72)
Megan LeDuc
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 159th (1.52)
• Assists per game – 236th (3.4)
• 3-point field goal percentage – 18th (.427)
• 3-point field goals per game – 130th (2.12)
• Minutes played per game – 103rd (34.80)
Kerri Moran
• Assist/Turnover Ratio – 61st (2.00)
• Assists per game – 121st (4.2)
 
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.

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 20-2 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 11-2 this season when leading at halftime.
 
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 72 of its 129 opponents (56 percent) to below 40 percent, including 13-of-25 games so far this season (52 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 168 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 70-of-186 games (38 percent) decided by eight points or fewer. In those games, Cornell has posted a 36-36 record (.500).
 
STARTING STREAK: Senior Nia Marshall has the longest starting streak on the team, standing at 83 games. Marshall has started every game of her career, with the exception of the Big Red's Senior Day on March 1, 2014.
 
10 ASSISTS CLUB: Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc are 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 and vs. New Hampshire on Nov. 11, 2016. In total, 12 Big Red players have accounted for 24 double-digit assist performances in Cornell history.  

NON-CONFERENCE WINS:
• With its 9-4 record in non-conference game, the Big Red secured a winning non-conference record for the fifth consecutive season, the longest streak in program history.
• The 2016-17 squad also matched the school record for 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.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red will need to await the results of this weekend's games to see if it earns a spot in the Ivy League Basketball Tournament.