ITHACA, N.Y. – With the dawn of a new season upon the Cornell women's basketball team, the Big Red are ready to build upon the foundation that was set last year, returning a wealth of experience and talent primed to take Cornell women's hoops to the next level.

As the Big Red looks ahead to the upcoming season with high hopes, it is hard not to look back at the vast improvement made by the Cornell women's basketball team just a season ago. Entering the 2018-19 campaign, the outlook for the season, on paper, was bleak. Being selected eighth in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll isn't exactly how a team wants to start its season. Luckily for the Big Red, a ranking is simply a number that often carries minimal weight, not a defining characteristic. What this ranking did do, however, is provide a huge source of motivation to the Big Red to prove to the world that it was capable of so much more than the pre-season ranking it was given. There was never a doubt among the Cornell women's basketball team of what it could achieve, it was just a matter of showing everyone else.

"Going into last season, we had a lot of question marks on who was going to step up into what roles," said Dayna Smith, the Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "We had a strong belief that we were going to be better than the previous year, but I don't think that a lot of people had the same belief. We knew it was going to take time, and we needed to find the right groupings and the right system."

As the 2018-19 campaign progressed, the Big Red got better and better, playing its best basketball when the team needed to the most. With a spot in the 2019 Ivy League Tournament on the line, Cornell won three of its last four Ivy League contests to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place with Dartmouth and Yale. Thanks to a season sweep of the Bulldogs and a split with the Big Green, the Big Red clinched the fourth and final spot in Ivy Madness, qualifying for the tournament for the first time in its three year history. Teams commonly preach the importance of being a family on and off the court, but the Big Red proved first-hand last year how powerful this connection can be in reaching its goals.

"We went into that last stretch of games with our back up against the wall in each contest, and the closeness of our team really came out," said Smith. "I truly saw the value of off court relationships and friendships come into play with our team dynamic. We played very selfless basketball and people were genuinely excited for one another. That's what made the team so fun last year."

While the Big Red reached its goal of being one of the last four teams standing in the Ivy League last season, it is now in the past, and Cornell will look to use that accomplishment as a stepping stone for what it hopes to achieve this season.

"Making the Ivy League Tournament last season is an experience that no one can take away from our team. While we have that accomplishment to fall back on, more than anything we need to duplicate it and almost exceed it this year," said Smith. "I think we have a group that is capable of doing this, but just like any other beginning of the year, it's a new group, a new team, and a new season. What happened last year is in the past and we have to create a different identity with this particular group."

With nine letter winners, including all five starters, returning from a team that went 12-14 overall and 6-8 in conference play in 2018-19, Cornell has a chance to create waves in the Ivy League this season. Good leadership is key to doing so, and the Big Red is in good hands with seniors Laura Bagwell-Katalinich and Samantha Widmann, who will serve as team captains for the 2019-20 campaign. The duo, along with seniors Danielle Jorgenson, Dylan Higgins, Stephanie Umeh, and Reena Olsen, are ready to help push the Big Red to new heights this season.

However, after being selected to finish fifth in the 2019-20 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, Cornell will once again have a lot to prove. Although the fifth-place preseason poll selection is a significant jump from last season, a common theme still resonates: the Big Red is capable of achieving more than what meets the eye, but that must be earned with time.

"Going into this season, we are not going to be able to automatically go back to the Ivy League Tournament just because we did last year and we have our leading scorers and rebounders back," said Smith. "I think as a group we are very prideful, and the team understands that last year was a step, but that's all it was. It was a step toward being a better basketball team this year."

With the Ivy League landscape looking strong once again this season, Cornell will have to be relentless in its fight to make the Ivy League Tournament for the second straight year, but the Big Red's grit and determination make this possible. The Big Red understands that respect is something that is earned, and it will do everything in its power to prove itself as it attempts to rise up the Ivy League standings this season.

The Cornell women's basketball team will open the 2019-20 campaign on Friday, Nov. 8 against UAlbany at 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.

Over the next several days, CornellBigRed.com will break down the Big Red women's basketball team as the season quickly approaches.

Women's Basketball Outlook Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 31 – Part One, 2018-19 Round Up and a Look Ahead
Friday, Nov. 1 – Part Two, Leadership
Monday, Nov. 4 – Part Three, Guards
Tuesday, Nov. 5 – Part Four, Forwards