ITHACA, N.Y. – After having its Sunday contest against Lafayette canceled due to weather, the Cornell women's basketball team will look to utilize its extra rest to hand unbeaten Binghamton its first loss of the season when it welcomes the Bearcats to Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.

Thursday's matchup proves to be a great one on paper, as Cornell built momentum over the month of November, entering Thursday's contest on a four-game win streak of its own.

GAME INFORMATION

GAME #8: Cornell vs. Binghamton
GAME TIME: Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Binghamton leads, 10-8
LAST MEETING: Binghamton won, 72-61, Nov. 9, 2018 (Vestal, N.Y.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (5-2, 0-0 Ivy League), Binghamton (8-0, 0-0 AE)
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FULL GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS:

• The Big Red returns to the court on Thursday after its contest against Lafayette scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 1 was cancelled due to inclement weather.
• After defeating UMass Lowell, 70-56, in its most recent outing on Wednesday, Nov. 27, the Cornell women's basketball team enters Thursday's contest on a four-game win streak.
• A dominant rebounding presence and balanced offensive attack led the Big Red to its victory over the Riverhawks.
• Cornell out-rebounded UMass Lowell 42-20, including 19-3 on the offensive glass. The Big Red has out-rebounded every opponent it has faced so far this season, currently owning a +15.6 rebounding margin, a mark which ranks second in all of Division I.
• The Big Red had four student-athletes score in double figures against the Riverhawks: Samantha Widmann (16), Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (14), Kate Sramac (12), and Halley Miklos (10).
• Cornell has had at least three student-athletes score in double figures in five of the Big Red's seven games so far this season.
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (15.9 ppg) and Samantha Widmann (12.9 ppg) have led Cornell in scoring in six of its seven games during the 2019-20 campaign. The pair has scored in double figures six and five times, respectively, so far this season.
• Bagwell-Katalinich currently leads the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.587) and free throw percentage (.793).
• Kate Sramac currently leads the Ivy League in steals (2.6 spg).
• Binghamton enters Thursday's contest with an unblemished record, having opened the season 8-0 and posting the program's longest win streak since the 2000-01 campaign.
• With its latest victory, a 78-67 win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Binghamton is off to its second-best start in program history, trailing only the 1998-99 squad that opened the season 12-0.
• On Friday, Nov. 29, the Bearcats were chosen by NCAA.com as one of five under the radar Division I teams in the nation.
• Binghamton is the third-and-final America East opponent that the Big Red will face this season. Cornell has found success against the conference during the 2019-20 season, holding a 2-0 record against the America East after defeating UAlbany, 71-51, on Nov. 8 and UMass Lowell, 70-56, on Nov. 27.

THE SERIES VS. BINGHAMTON:

• Thursday's matchup will be the 18th meeting between the two teams, with Binghamton holding a 10-8 advantage dating back to the 1977-78 season.
• The Bearcats won four straight meetings from 2008-09 to 2011-12, but Cornell regained its footing, winning four consecutive games from 2012-13 to 2016-17.
• Binghamton has had Cornell's number as of late, winning the last two matchups, including a 72-61 victory over Cornell in the Big Red's season opener last season on Nov. 9, 2018 in Vestal, N.Y.
• Coach Dayna Smith owns a 6-9 record against Binghamton.

A WIN OVER BINGHAMTON WOULD:

• Improve the Big Red's record to 6-2 on the season.
• Give Cornell its best start through eight games since the 2000-01 season, when the Big Red opened the season 6-2.
• Be Cornell's fifth-consecutive win.
• Make Cornell 3-0 against America East opponents this season.
• Hand the Bearcats its first loss of the season.
• Improve Cornell to 10-9 in the all-time series.
• Improve Coach Smith to 7-9 against Binghamton.
• Make Coach Smith 18-19 against the America East, including 3-0 this season.

CORNELL VS. THE AMERICA EAST:

• Cornell has had success against the America East this season, opening its season with a 71-51 over UAlbany on Nov. 8 and downing UMass Lowell, 70-56, in its most recent outing on Nov. 27.
• With these victories, Cornell improved to 27-29 all-time against current members of the America East.
• Binghamton will be the third-and-final America East opponent that the Big Red faces this season.
• Overall, 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 17-19 all-time vs. the America East.

SCOUTING BINGHAMTON:

• Binghamton enters Thursday's contest with an unblemished record, having opened the season 8-0 and posting the program's longest win streak since the 2000-01 campaign.
• With its latest victory, a 78-67 win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Binghamton is off to its second-best start in program history, trailing only the 1998-99 squad that opened the season 12-0.
• On Friday, Nov. 29, the Bearcats were chosen by NCAA.com as one of five under the radar Division I teams in the nation.
• The Bearcats have been led this season by Kai Moon, who is having a spectacular senior season. Moon currently ranks second in the nation in points per game (24.3) and is shooting .444 from the field and .469 from long range. She has been on-point from behind the arc, sinking 30 3-point buckets so far this season, a mark which ranks third in the NCAA. She also ranks fourth in the nation in free throws made (52).
• Moon recently scored her 1,000th point, becoming the 18th player in Binghamton history to reach this milestone. In addition, she is coming off of back-to-back America East Player of the Week honors and has received this distinction three times this season.
• As a team, Binghamton currently leads the America East in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (74.8 ppg), scoring margin (+15.5), field goal percentage (0.443), 3-point field goal percentage (0.371), free throw percentage (0.809), and assist/turnover ratio (1.01).
• Even more impressive, the Bearcats' free throw percentage (0.809) ranks fourth in the nation.

PROTECTING THE RIM:

The Big Red has guarded the rim with pride through its first seven games, out-rebounding its opponent in every contest thus far and holding its opponents to an Ivy League-best 27.1 rebounds/game. Even more impressive, the Big Red currently ranks second in the nation and first in the Ivy League in rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 15.6 rebounds per game.

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 (17.71) and having four student-athletes ranked in the top-25 of the conference in this statistical category: Shannon Mulroy (5th – 3.7 apg), Kate Sramac (11th – 3.1 apg), Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (19th – 2.4 apg), and Samantha Widmann (22nd – 2.1 apg). Thanks to this team effort, Cornell sits 24th in the nation in assists/game (17.7) and 27th in assists (124).

SHARP SHOOTING:

Cornell has found a way to generate high percentage shots through its first seven contests, and the team has capitalized on them, currently leading the Ivy League and ranking 17th in the nation in field goal percentage (.474). The Big Red has also started to turn it on from long range, currently shooting an Ivy League-best .341 as a team from behind the arc.

STRENGTH COMES IN NUMBERS:

So far this season, the Big Red has had at least three student-athletes score in double-figures in five out of Cornell's seven games. Several key contributors have been Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (15.9 ppg) and Samantha Widmann (12.9 ppg), who have led Cornell in scoring in six of its seven games during the 2019-20 campaign. The pair has scored in double figures six and five times, respectively, so far this season.

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 – 32nd in double-doubles (3 – through seven games), 32nd in field goal percentage (.587)
• Samantha Widmann – 62nd in field goal percentage (.544), 68th in minutes played/game (35.4)
• Kate Sramac – 67th in steals (18), 73rd in steals/game (2.57)

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:
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 1st in free throw percentage (.793), 1st in field goal percentage (.587), 5th in rebounding (7.6 rpg), 6th in scoring (15.9 ppg)
• Kate Sramac – 1st in steals (2.6 spg), 7th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), 10th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.6), 11th in assists (3.1 apg)
• Samantha Widmann – 3rd in minutes played (35.1/game), 3rd in field goal percentage (.544), 4th in rebounding (8.0 rpg), 13th in scoring (12.9 ppg), 14th in steals (1.3 spg)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 3rd in blocks (1.4 bpg)
• Shannon Mulroy – 5th in assists (3.7 apg), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9), 11th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.3)

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 on Monday, Nov. 25. 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 against Niagara and Delaware State, 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 has scored in double figures in six out of Cornell's seven games so far this season, including back-to-back 20-point performances against Niagara and Delaware State. She has already notched three double-doubles as well.

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.
• Senior point guard Danielle Jorgenson returns invaluable experience, starting 53 consecutive games over her sophomore and junior seasons.
• 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 193 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 play its final game before the holiday break when it hosts Duquesne on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.