ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will play the final contest of its three-game home stand against Niagara on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y., before traveling to Delaware State for a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Memorial Hall Gym in Dover, Del.

Game Information

GAME #5: Cornell vs. Niagara
GAME TIME: Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Niagara leads, 6-10
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 75-63 (OT), Nov. 20, 2005 (Elmira, N.Y.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (2-2, 0-0 Ivy League), Niagara (0-4, 0-0 MAAC)
Live Video (ESPN+): es.pn/333bozM
Live Stats: bit.ly/32JKaxH
Tickets: bit.ly/2OpvY8d

GAME #6: Cornell at Delaware State
GAME TIME: Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Memorial Hall Gym (Dover, Del.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 5-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 94-59, Dec. 15, 2018 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (2-2, 0-0 Ivy), Delaware State (3-1, 0-0 MEAC)
Live Stats: bit.ly/35tKWkg 

*Records prior to Thursday's contest.

FULL GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS:

• Cornell got back in the win column in its last outing against NJIT on Saturday, pummeling the Highlanders, 68-44, at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
• With the victory, the Big Red evened its season record to 2-2, and has a chance to start stacking wins against Niagara on Thursday and Delaware State on Saturday.
• The Big Red was led in the win by Theresa Grace Mbanefo, who posted 12 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Shannon Mulroy chipped in 10 points, and Sam Widmann notched 10 rebounds, including four offensive.
• Cornell's contest against Niagara will close out a three-game home stand before the Big Red returns to the road to take on Delaware State.
• The Big Red will square off against Niagara on Thursday for the first time in over a decade. The last contest between the two teams went to overtime and saw the Big Red come out on top, 75-63, on Nov. 20, 2005 in Elmira, N.Y.
• Niagara is seeking its first win of the 2019-20 season after dropping its first four contests to St. Bonaventure, Buffalo, Rutgers, and Binghamton.
• Cornell crushed Delaware State last season, 94-59, in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell's 94 points in that contest were the most ever in regulation, besting the team's 92-point performance against Tennessee State during the 2009-10 season.
• Delaware State is off to a 3-1 start, including a 67-64 victory over Delaware. This marked the first time in program history that the Hornets defeated the Blue Hens.

THE SERIES VS. NIAGARA:

• Thursday's matchup between the Big Red and Purple Eagles will be the 17th meeting.
• It will be only the second time that Coach Smith has faced Niagara.
• Niagara holds a 10-6 series advantage over Cornell dating all the way back to 1973-74.
• Thursday will be the first time the two teams have met since the 2005-06 season, when the Big Red defeated the Purple Eagles in overtime, 75-63.
• In the contest, Cornell exploded for 14 points in overtime to secure the win.
• Future Cornell Hall-of-Famer Jeomi Maduka (a freshman at the time) led Cornell with a career-high 22 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. She was inducted into Cornell's Hall of Fame in 2019.

A WIN OVER NIAGARA WOULD:

• Improve the Big Red's record to 3-2 on the season.
• Be Cornell's second-consecutive win.
• Improve Cornell to 7-10 in the all-time series.
• Improve Coach Smith to 2-0 against Niagara.
• Make Coach Smith 9-9 against the MAAC.

CORNELL VS. THE MAAC:

• Cornell is 19-32 all-time vs. current members of the MAAC.
• The Big Red has played every team in the MAAC at least once except for Quinnipiac, Rider, and St. Peter's.
• Cornell has faced Niagara more times than any other MAAC opponent.

SCOUTING NIAGARA:

• Niagara is seeking its first win of the 2019-20 campaign after dropping its first four games to St. Bonaventure (71-67, OT), Buffalo (81-67), Rutgers (87-37), and Binghamton (74-55).
• The Purple Eagles have been out-scored in its first four contests by an average of 21.7 points.
• The Purple Eagles were selected to finish seventh in the MAAC this season, per the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll. This is the highest pick for Niagara since being selected to finish fifth in the 2014-15 preseason poll.
• Niagara has been led so far this season by 2019-20 Preseason All-MAAC First-Team selection Jai Moore, who currently leads the team and ranks 12th in the MAAC in scoring (13.5 ppg).
• Adia Brisker (6.5 rpg) and Emerald Ekpiteta (6.3 rpg) have been Niagara's biggest rebounding threats.

THE SERIES VS. DELAWARE STATE:

• Saturday's matchup between the Big Red and Hornets will be the seventh meeting.
• Cornell holds a distinct 5-1 series advantage over Delaware State dating back to 1991-92.
• Coach Smith owns a perfect 3-0 record against Delaware State.
• Cornell crushed Delaware State last season, 94-59, in Ithaca, N.Y. The Big Red's 94 points in that contest were the most ever for Cornell in regulation, besting the team's 92-point performance against Tennessee State during the 2009-10 season.

A WIN OVER DELAWARE STATE WOULD:

• Improve Cornell to 6-1 in the all-time series.
• Improve Coach Smith to 4-0 against Delaware State.
• Make Coach Smith 10-4 against the MEAC.

CORNELL VS. THE MEAC:

• Cornell holds a 13-7 record all-time against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, including a 5-1 mark against Delaware State.
• The Big Red also has a winning record against Howard (3-1), Maryland Eastern-Shore (1-0), and Morgan State (2-1).
• Cornell has a losing record against Bethune-Cookman (0-1) and Coppin State (2-3).
• Coach Smith is 9-4 all-time against MEAC teams.

SCOUTING DELAWARE STATE:

• Delaware State is off to a 3-1 start this season, including a 67-64 win over Delaware for the Hornets' first win over the Blue Hens in program history.
• Delaware State has put pressure on its opponents so far this season, averaging 9.3 steals per game while holding its opponents to 5.3 steals per game. This also shows in the turnover department, as the Hornets have forced its opponents into an average of 21.8 turnovers per game.
• The Hornets were selected to finish eighth this season in the MEAC, according to the conference's preseason poll.
• Delaware State has been led so far this season by Sharajah Collins and Preseason All-MEAC Third-Team selection Lanayjha Ashe, who are averaging 14.0 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
• Tierra Floyd (9.0 rpg) has paced the Hornets on the boards.

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

Several Big Red student-athletes are making their presence known on the national stage, ranking in the top-100 of the NCAA in the following statistical categories:
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 16th in double-doubles (2 – through four games)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 87th in blocked shots (6)
• Kate Sramac – 44th in steals (11), 85th in steals/game (2.75)
• Samantha Widmann – 85th in minutes played/game (35.45)

IVY LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

Through two weeks of play, the following Big Red student-athletes rank among the best in the Ivy League in the following statistical categories:
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 7th in rebounding (7.5 rpg), 8th in field goal percentage (.513), 14th in scoring (11.5 ppg)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 2nd in blocks (1.5 bpg)
• Shannon Mulroy – 5th in assists (4.0 apg), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9), 12th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.3), 16th in minutes played (30.0/game)
• Kate Sramac – 2nd in steals (2.8 spg), 17th in assists (2.8 apg)
• Samantha Widmann – 5th in rebounding (7.8 rpg), 7th in minutes played (35.3/game), 9th in steals (1.5 spg), 12th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9), 13th in assists (3.0), 17th in scoring (10.8 ppg)

A BALANCED ATTACK:

Cornell has shared the ball well so far this season, ranking second in the Ivy League as a team in assists/game (17.00) and having four student-athletes ranked in the top-25 of the conference in this statistical category: Shannon Mulroy (5th – 4.0 apg), Samantha Widmann (13th – 3.0 apg), Kate Sramac (17th – 2.8 apg), and Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (24th – 2.3 apg). Thanks to this team effort, Cornell sits 28th in the nation in assists (68).

PROTECT THE RIM:

The Big Red has guarded the rim hard through its first four games, holding its opponents to an Ivy League-best 28.0 rebounds/game. Even more impressive, the Big Red currently ranks 26th in the nation in rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 13.5 rebounds per game.

RECAPPING THE 2018-19 SEASON:

The Big Red finished the season with a 12-14 overall record and a mark of 6-8 in the Ivy League. After winning three of its final four contests, the Big Red finished in a tie for fourth place in the Ivy League and clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since the tournament's inception three years ago.

WHAT WAS LOST:

• The Big Red graduated one senior from the 2018-19 squad in co-captain Samantha Clement, also losing one letter winner as well as one non-letter winner.

WHAT REMAINS:

• Cornell returns all five starters and nine letter winners from a year ago. 
• The team returns its top scorer (16.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.9 rpg) from 2018-19 in Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, as well as its second leading scorer (10.8) and rebounder (6.9), Samantha Widmann.
• Widmann and Bagwell-Katalinich will serve as captains for the 2019-20 season.
• Widmann enters her third term as team captain, becoming only the second player in program history (Karen Force '04) to serve as a three-time team captain.
• Bagwell-Katalinich returns to the team after becoming only the 11th player in program history to be named first team All-Ivy League.
• Kate Sramac and Halley Miklos are back and ready to make an even bigger impact this season after making 19 and 17 starts, respectively, a season ago.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK:

•The Big Red added four freshmen to the 2019-20 squad.
• The group hails from four different states – California, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.
• The group consists of one point guard (Shannon Mulroy), two guards (Ania McNicholas, KC Carter), and one forward (Anna Hovis).

IVY PRESEASON RANKINGS:

•  The Big Red was picked fifth overall in the 2019-20 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll with 60 voter points.
• This marked vast improvement from last season, when the Big Red were selected eighth in the preseason poll.
• Princeton and Penn tied for first in the poll, each collecting 125 voter points after sharing the regular season Ivy League crown in 2018-19.
• Princeton held a slight advantage in the voting after winning the 2019 Ivy League Tournament, receiving 10 first place votes as compared to Penn's seven.
• Harvard (95) and Yale (90), were selected to finish third and fourth, respectively.
• Columbia (47), Dartmouth (47), and Brown (23) rounded out the bottom three.

HEAD COACH DAYNA SMITH:

• In her 18th season at the helm of the Big Red program, head coach Dayna Smith 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 (37th season), ranks ahead of Cornell's Smith.
• 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 190 career victories.

FRESH PERSPECTIVES:

Coach Smith welcomed two new assistant coaches to the staff for the 2019-20 season - Claire Mattox (Washington College '14) and Joe Rutigliano (Canisius '15).

UP NEXT:

The Big Red will face off against UMass-Lowell on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Mass.