ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will play its final non-conference contest of the 2019-20 campaign when it hosts East Tennessee State on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.

GAME INFORMATION

GAME #12: Cornell vs. East Tennessee State
GAME TIME: Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m.
GAME SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 76-65, Jan. 4, 1993 (Greensboro, N.C.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (6-5, 0-0 Ivy League), East Tennessee State (5-9, 0-0 Southern Conference)
Live Video (ESPN+): es.pn/2Fc9SBF
Live Stats: bit.ly/2ZHjBJS

FULL GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS:

• Cornell rounded out the 2019 calendar year with a pair of road contests against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 29 and #19/21 West Virginia on Dec. 31.
• The Big Red split the two match-ups, routing St. Bonaventure, 70-42, before falling to #19/21 West Virginia, 68-62.
• Cornell's win over the Bonnies marked the largest margin of victory for the Big Red (28) this season, as Cornell limited St. Bonaventure to its lowest first-half point total (14) of the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Big Red gave #19/21 West Virginia all that it could handle, slicing a 17-point second quarter deficit to just one on three occasions in the third quarter. Cornell's full court pressure in the second half helped the Big Red get back in the game, as Cornell forced the Mountaineers into 13 second half turnovers after West Virginia committed just three in the first half.
• Samantha Widmann paced three Big Red student-athletes in double figures in both contests. Widmann notched her second 20+ point performance of the season against West Virginia, pouring in a game-high 21 points and notching seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Kate Sramac filled the stat sheet against West Virginia, scoring a career-high 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting while posting a season-best six rebounds and five assists.
• Shannon Mulroy was feeling it against St. Bonaventure, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from long range en route to 13 points.
• Bagwell-Katalinich has been a scoring machine during her two seasons with the Big Red, notching double figures in 33 out of the 37 games she has played in a Cornell uniform.
• Cornell has defended the paint with pride this season, out-rebounding its opponent in 10 of the 11 games it has played so far this season. The Big Red currently owns a +13.3 rebounding margin, a mark which ranks seventh in all of Division I.
• Saturday's contest against East Tennessee State will be the final tune-up for the Big Red before it opens Ivy League play at Columbia on Jan. 18 at 1 p.m.

THE SERIES VS. EAST TENNESSEE STATE:

• Saturday's contest between Cornell and East Tennessee State will be only the second time the two teams have met.
• The last meeting came 27 years ago during the 1992-93 season.
• The Big Red defeated the Bucs, 76-65, on Jan. 4, 1993, in a neutral site game in Greensboro, N.C.

A WIN OVER EAST TENNESSEE STATE WOULD:

• Improve the Big Red's record to 7-5 on the season.
• Give Cornell a winning non-conference record in seven of the last eight seasons.
• Improve Cornell to 2-0 against East Tennessee State.
• Be Cornell's first victory over the Southern Conference since the last time Cornell defeated East Tennessee State in the 1992-93 season.
• Be head coach Dayna Smith's first victory over a Southern Conference opponent.

CORNELL VS. THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE:

• Cornell has only squared off against a Southern Conference opponent four times in program history, with the most recent being a game against Samford during the 2009-10 season.
• The Big Red is 1-3 all-time against the Southern Conference.
• The Big Red holds a 1-0 series advantage over East Tennessee State.
• Cornell has a 0-1 record against UNC Greensboro, Samford, and UT Chattanooga.
• Head Coach Dayna Smith is 0-1 against the Southern Conference.

SCOUTING EAST TENNESSEE STATE:

• East Tennessee State enters Saturday's contest with a 5-9 overall record.
• The game against the Big Red will also be East Tennessee's final non-conference game before it starts Southern Conference play against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 9.
• East Tennessee State will be looking to extend its win streak to three games, having won its last two contests against South Alabama, 65-60, on Dec. 20 and Converse College, 73-35, on Dec. 31.
• The Bucs' 38-point victory over Converse College marks the largest win for East Tennessee State since the 2011-12 season.
• East Tennessee State has been one of the most successful free throw shooting teams in the nation so far this season, ranking third in all of Division I in free throws made (233) and free throws attempted (339).
• The Bucs currently lead the Southern Conference in blocking, averaging 3.9/game.
• East Tennessee State has been led in scoring so far this season by Micah Scheetz, who is averaging 16.4 points per game.
• Tijuana Kimbro leads the team in rebounding (7.0/game) and Kaia Upton leads the squad in assists (3.9/game).

STUDYING THE OPPOSITION:

Head coach Dayna Smith's teams have translated its successes in the classroom to the basketball court following Cornell's two-week study break, posting a record of 12-6 in the first game back from exams. This held true this year, as Cornell defeated St. Bonaventure, 70-42, in its first game back. Historically, the Big Red holds a 17-22 record coming out of the study break since the 1980-81 season.

PROTECTING THE RIM:

The Big Red has protected the glass through its first 11 games, outrebounding its opponent in 10 of its first 11 contests while holding its opponents to an Ivy League-best 28.8 rebounds/game. Even more impressive, the Big Red currently ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Ivy League in rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 13.3 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 (16.6) and having four student-athletes ranked in the top-20 of the conference in this statistical category: Shannon Mulroy (5th – 3.3 apg), Kate Sramac (5th – 3.3 apg), Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (17th – 2.3 apg), and Samantha Widmann (17th – 2.3 apg). Thanks to this team effort, Cornell sits 31st in the nation in assists/game (16.6).

POINTS IN THE PAINT:

Cornell has found a way to generate high percentage shots through its first eleven contests, and the team has capitalized on them, currently leading the Ivy League and ranking 30th in the nation in field goal percentage (.455). In its first eleven games, the Big Red is averaging 36.0 points in the paint per game, accounting for more than half of the team's scoring.

STEALING THE SHOW:

Kate Sramac has put the pressure on the opposition, forcing turnovers and collecting steals, as the junior guard currently leads the Ivy League and ranks 88th in the nation in steals per game (2.3).
 
Senior guard/forward Samantha Widmann has also had a knack for stealing the basketball over the course of her career, as her 144 career steals is only two off of cracking the program's top-10 in this statistical category.

DYNAMIC DUO:

Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (15.8 ppg) and Samantha Widmann (13.2 ppg) have been the core of the Big Red offense this season, leading the team in scoring in 10 of Cornell's 11 contests. The pair has scored in double figures 10 and eight times, respectively, so far this season. Bagwell-Katalinich has notched three 20+ point performances, while Widmann has posted two.
 
The senior co-captains have also been key contributors to Cornell's strong rebounding presence, as either Bagwell-Katalinich (7.9 rpg) or Widmann (7.4 rpg) have led the team in rebounding in every game of the 2019-20 campaign. Bagwell-Katalinich has amassed double-digit rebounds on five occasions, while Widmann has on three.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000:

Senior guard/forward Samantha Widmann is closing in on a milestone – scoring 1,000-career points. Widmann has currently scored 965 points for her career and is just 35 points away from becoming the 15th member of Cornell's 1,000 point club.

In addition, Widmann has worked her way into the top-10 all-time in Cornell women's basketball history in career defensive rebounds (10th - 345) and career offensive rebounds (10th - 182).

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS:

As a team, Cornell ranks within the top-75 of the NCAA in the following statistical categories:
• 7th in rebounding margin (+13.3)
• 30th in field goal percentage (.455)
• 31st in assists per game (16.6)
• 39th in scoring defense (56.6 ppg)
• 49th in field goal percentage defense (.356)
• 55th in rebounds per game (42.1)

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 – 43rd in double-doubles (5 – through 11 games), 59th in field goal percentage (.530)
• Samantha Widmann – 54th in field goal percentage (.536)
• Kate Sramac – 88th in steals/game (2.3)

IVY LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

The following Big Red student-athletes rank among the best in the Ivy League in the following statistical categories:
• Kate Sramac – 1st in steals (2.3 spg), 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), 5th in assists (3.3 apg), 14th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.3)
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich – 3rd in rebounding (7.9 rpg), 3rd in field goal percentage (.530), 5th in scoring (15.8 ppg), 7th in free throw percentage (.739)
• Samantha Widmann – 2nd in field goal percentage (.536), 3rd in minutes played (34.0/game), 5th in rebounding (7.4 rpg), 9th in scoring (13.2 ppg)
• Shannon Mulroy – 5th in assists (3.3 apg), 9th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9), 14th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.3)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 7th in blocks (1.1 bpg)
• Halley Miklos – 14th in rebounding (5.2 rpg)

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 10 out of Cornell's 11 games so far this season, including three 20-point performances. She has now scored in double-digits in 33 of the 37 games she has played in a Cornell uniform.

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 194 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 Ivy League play at Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium in New York.