ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will look to extend its win streak to four games when it takes on UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Mass.

GAME INFORMATION

GAME #7: Cornell at UMass Lowell
GAME TIME: Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m.
GAME SITE: Costello Athletic Center (Lowell, Mass.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 2-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 63-54, Nov. 17, 2018 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (4-2, 0-0 Ivy League), UMass Lowell (0-6, 0-0 AE)
Live Video (ESPN+): es.pn/2KTo4mo
Live Stats: bit.ly/33hHR5v
Tickets: bit.ly/37vMc8x

FULL GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS:

• The Big Red enters Wednesday's contest on a three-game win streak after defeating NJIT (68-44) on Nov. 16, Niagara (82-59) on Nov. 21, and most recently, Delaware State (77-51) on Nov. 23.
• Over the course of the last three games, Cornell has found a way to leave its opponents in the dust, winning all three contests by at least 20 points.
• Senior forward Laura Bagwell-Katalinich has been a big reason for this, as she averaged 25.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in the Big Reds contests against Niagara and Delaware State last week. She also shot 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, including a perfect 10-of-10 against the Purple Eagles.
• For her efforts, Bagwell-Katalinich was named the Ivy League Player of the Week for the first time of her career on Nov. 25.
• Cornell has been a beast on the boards so far this season, out-rebounding its opponents in every contest thus far and owning a +14.5 rebounding margin.
• UMass Lowell is seeking its first win of the 2019-20 campaign after dropping its first six contests.
• UMass Lowell is the second of three America East teams that the Big Red will face this season. Cornell defeated UAlbany, 71-51, on Nov. 8 to open the season and will host Binghamton on Dec. 5.
• Head coach Dayna Smith and a pair of River Hawks coaches – head coach Tom Garrick and assistant coach Denise King – are all Rhode Island alumni.

THE SERIES VS. UMASS LOWELL:

• Wednesday's matchup between the Big Red and Riverhawks will be just the third meeting between the two schools.
• The previous two match-ups have occurred in each of the past two seasons, and Cornell has emerged victorious both times.
• The Big Red defeated UMass-Lowell during the 2017-18 campaign, 71-53, in Lowell, Mass., and again last season, 63-54, in Ithaca, N.Y.

A WIN OVER UMASS LOWELL WOULD:

• Improve the Big Red's record to 5-2 on the season.
• Be Cornell's fourth-consecutive win.
• Improve Cornell to 3-0 in the all-time series.
• Improve Coach Smith to 3-0 against UMass Lowell.
• Make Coach Smith 17-19 against the America East.
• Make the Big Red 2-0 against the America East this season.

CORNELL VS. THE AMERICA EAST:

• Cornell improved to 26-29 all-time against current members of the America East with its 71-51, season-opening win over UAlbany on Nov. 8.
• UMass Lowell will be the second of three America East opponents for the Big Red this season, as Cornell will also host Binghamton on Dec. 5.
• The Big Red has a winning record vs. Albany (7-1), UMass Lowell (2-0), and UMBC (2-0).
• Cornell has a losing record vs. Binghamton (8-10), Hartford (0-2), Maine (0-1), New
Hampshire (1-5), Stony Brook (2-4) and Vermont (4-6).
• Coach Smith is 16-19 all-time vs. the America East.

SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL:

• UMass Lowell is still seeking its first win of the 2019-20 season, currently owning a 0-6 record.
• The Riverhawks have been led so far this season by Ren'Cia Rolling and Denise Solis, who are averaging 11.5 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
• Solis (7.2 rpg), along with Brianne Stiers (8.0 rpg), have paced the squad in the rebounding category.
• As a team, UMass Lowell ranks second in the America East in offensive rebounds (14.2/game) and fifth in defensive rebounds (24.5/game), setting up a likely rebounding battle between the Big Red and Riverhawks on Wednesday.

SHARING THE WEALTH:

Cornell has been selfless with the basketball so far this season, ranking second in the Ivy League as a team in assists/game (17.83) and having four student-athletes ranked in the top-25 of the conference in this statistical category: Kate Sramac (6th – 3.3 apg), Shannon Mulroy (6th – 3.3 apg), Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (16th – 2.5 apg), and Samantha Widmann (23rd – 2.3 apg). Thanks to this team effort, Cornell sits 11th in the nation in assists (107) and 31st in assists/game (17.8).

PROTECTING THE RIM:

The Big Red has guarded the rim with pride through its first six games, outrebounding its opponent in every contest thus far and holding its opponents to an Ivy League-best 28.3 rebounds/game. Even more impressive, the Big Red currently ranks 17th in the nation and first in the Ivy League in rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 14.5 rebounds per game. The team also ranks 20th in all of Division I in total rebounds (257).

SHARP SHOOTING:

Cornell has found a way to generate high percentage shots through its first six contests, and the team has capitalized on them, currently leading the Ivy League and ranking 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage (.478).

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

Several Big Red student-athletes are making their presence known on the national stage, ranking in the top-75 of the NCAA in the following statistical categories:
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 12th in double-doubles (3 – through six games), 41st in field goals made (39), 60th in rebounds (49), 64th in field goal percentage (.565), 69th in points (97)
• Kate Sramac – 35th in steals (15)
• Samantha Widmann – 43rd in minutes played (211), 53rd in field goal percentage (.574)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 57th in blocked shots (10)

IVY LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

Through three weeks of play, the following Big Red student-athletes rank among the best in the Ivy League in the following statistical categories:
• Kate Sramac – 1st in steals (2.5 spg), 6th in assists (3.3 apg), 6th in assist/turnover ratio (1.7), 11th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.2)
• Samantha Widmann – 2nd in field goal percentage (.574), 3rd in minutes played (35.0/game), 5th in rebounding (7.7 rpg), 13th in scoring (12.3 ppg)
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 3rd in rebounding (8.2 rpg), 3rd in free throw percentage (.760), 4th in field goal percentage (.565), 4th in scoring (16.2 ppg)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 3nd in blocks (1.7 bpg)
• Shannon Mulroy – 6th in assists (3.3 apg), 9th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.5), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9)

STRENGTH COMES IN NUMBERS:

The Big Red had five student-athletes reach double figures in its 82-59 victory over Niagara, marking the first time that this feat has been accomplished since 2017. Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (22), Samantha Widmann (17), Shannon Mulroy (14), Kate Sramac (10), and Theresa Grace Mbanefo (10) combined for 73 of the Big Red's 82 points in the win.

BAGWELL-KATALINICH NAMED IVY LEAGUE PLAYER OF WEEK:

For the first time of her career, Cornell women's basketball senior forward Laura Bagwell-Katalinich was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday afternoon. In addition to being honored by the conference, Bagwell-Katalinich was also deemed the College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week.
 
Between Cornell's two contests last week, Bagwell-Katalinich averaged 25.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. In addition, she shot 13-of-14 from the charity stripe over the two games, including a perfect 10-of-10 against Niagara.
 
Bagwell-Katalinich is now coming off of back-to-back 20-point performances and has already notched three double-doubles so far this season.

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 192 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 open a three-game home stand with a matchup against Lafayette on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.