ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will play its final two games of the season when it hosts Penn on Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. and No. 21 Princeton on Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. Friday's contest will be National Girls and Women in Sports Day, while Saturday's game will serve as the Big Red's Senior Day.

GAME INFORMATION

GAME #25: Cornell vs. Penn
GAME TIME: Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m.
GAME SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 61-21
LAST MEETING: Penn won, 63-41, on Feb. 8, 2020 (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (10-14, 3-9 Ivy League), Penn (18-7, 8-4 Ivy League)
LIVE VIDEO (ESPN+): es.pn/2TkItFO
LIVE STATS: bit.ly/2uVnboQ
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EVENT: National Girls and Women in Sports Day

GAME #26: Cornell vs. No. 21 Princeton
GAME TIME: Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m.
GAME SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 59-21
LAST MEETING: Princeton won, 60-29, on Feb. 7, 2020 (Princeton, N.J.)
2019-20 RECORDS: Cornell (10-14, 3-9 Ivy League)*, Princeton (24-1, 12-0 Ivy League)*
LIVE VIDEO (ESPN+): es.pn/3aqsziU
LIVE STATS: bit.ly/2uVnboQ
TICKETS: bit.ly/39rgyK0
EVENT: Senior Day
*Records prior to Friday's contests.

FULL GAME NOTES

SETTING THE SCENE:

• Cornell will play its final two games of the regular season when it welcomes Penn and No. 21 Princeton to town this weekend.
• Princeton will be the second ranked opponent that the Big Red has faced this season and the first since Dec. 31 when Cornell squared off against the then-No. 19 West Virginia Mountaineers, falling 68-62.
• Prior to Friday's contest against Penn, Cornell's Red Key Athlete Honor Society will host a National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Participants will receive free tickets to the game and will have the opportunity to participate in a meet and greet with the team at the conclusion of the contest.
• Saturday will serve as the Big Red's Senior Day, as Cornell seniors Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Dylan Higgins, Danielle Jorgenson, Reena Olsen, Stephanie Umeh, and Samantha Widmann will be honored prior to the contest.

QUICK HITS:

• Cornell is coming off a historic 55-47 victory over Harvard, marking the first time that the Big Red has defeated the Crimson in Cambridge, Mass. in the series' 46-year history.
• The win was significant in more ways than one, as the victory snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Big Red and a five-game losing streak to Harvard that had spanned over the last three seasons.
• Kate Sramac and Theresa Grace Mbanefo came up big for Cornell in the victory, both notching their first-career double-doubles. Sramac recorded 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Mbanefo scored 11 points and corralled a career-high 12 boards.
• Cornell held Harvard to just five points in the first quarter of play, as the Big Red went on a 20-1 run spanning the final seven and a half minutes of the quarter to build a 24-5 lead through the first ten minutes of play.
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich and Samantha Widmann led the Big Red in Cornell's heartbreaking 82-79 overtime loss to Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 28, each scoring a game-high 24 points. Bagwell-Katalinich added a game-high 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
• Kate Sramac posted a career-high 18 points, four rebounds, and a career-high seven assists in the loss.
• Bagwell-Katalinich has been a scoring machine during her two seasons with the Big Red, notching double figures in 41 out of the 50 games she has played in a Cornell uniform.
• Cornell has crashed the offensive boards hard this season, currently leading the Ivy League in offensive rebounds per game (14.9).

NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY:

Prior to the Cornell women's basketball contest against Penn on Friday, March 6, elementary to middle school-aged girls and boys are encouraged to partake in Cornell's National Girls and Women in Sports Day event, which will be held in the balcony space of Newman Arena. The event, which is open to both girls and boys, will take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is aimed at empowering young girls. The evening will be led by student-athletes from Cornell's women's varsity athletics team and will be full of learning, fitness, and fun.
 
The evening will culminate with the Cornell women's basketball contest against Penn at 6 p.m., as participants at the National Girls and Women in Sports Day event will receive free tickets to the contest. After staying to cheer on the Big Red, attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a meet and greet with the team at the conclusion of the game.

SENIOR DAY:

The Big Red will take time on Saturday prior to its 5 p.m. game against Princeton to honor its six seniors: Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Dylan Higgins, Danielle Jorgenson, Reena Olsen, Stephanie Umeh, and Samantha Widmann. The group was an integral part of the program over the last four years, helping the Big Red qualify for its first Ivy League Tournament in its three-year history in 2018-19.

THE SERIES VS. PENN:

• Penn leads the all-time series, 61-21.
• Cornell's rivalry with the Quakers began during the 1974-75 season and the two teams have met every year since, excluding the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.
• Cornell's longest winning streak in the series came when the Big Red won three consecutive from 2010-12.
• Penn has won 13 of the last 15 meetings between the two schools, including the last seven.
• The Quakers have swept Cornell in each of the last three seasons, and after beating the Big Red, 63-41, earlier this season on Feb. 8, Penn will be out for its fourth-consecutive season sweep on Friday.

A WIN OVER PENN WOULD:

• Bring the Big Red's record to 11-14 overall and 4-9 in Ivy League play.
• Be Cornell's second-straight win.
• Snap a seven-game losing streak for Cornell to the Quakers.
• Give Cornell its first win at Newman Arena since Jan. 31, 2020 when the Big Red defeated Brown, 74-63.
• Give Coach Smith 199 career victories, only one away from notching 200 for her career.

SCOUTING PENN (18-7, 8-4 Ivy League):

• Penn is coming off a weekend it which it split its pair of Ivy League contests, falling to Yale, 71-54, before defeating Brown, 74-60.
• With its victory over Brown, Penn punched its ticket to Ivy Madness, now having qualified for the tournament in each of the last four seasons since the tournament's birth.
• Penn is led by standout freshman Kayla Padilla, who is a two-time Ivy League Player of the Week and five-time Rookie of the Week so far this season. She ranks second in the Ivy League in scoring (17.7 ppg).
• Eleah Parker (12.0) and Phoebe Sterba (10.5) are both averaging double-digit points per game. Parker also leads the Ivy League in blocked shots (2.6 bpg) and has moved into third all-time in Penn history for career blocks.
• Sterba shot the lights out against Cornell the first time the two teams met earlier this season, pouring in a season-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers.
• Kendall Grasela leads the Ivy League in assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and ranks second in assists (4.3 apg).

THE SERIES VS. NO. 21 PRINCETON:

• Princeton leads the all-time series, 59-21.
• Cornell's rivalry with the Tigers began during the 1974-75 season with a 51-33 Princeton victory, but after this meeting, the teams did not meet again until the 1979-80 campaign.
• The schools have met every year since.
• Cornell snapped a series-high 17-game winning streak by the Tigers with a 55-44 victory in 2016-17, but Princeton is once again on a streak, winning the last six matchups between the two schools.
• After defeating the Big Red, 60-29, earlier this season, Princeton is seeking its third-straight season sweep of Cornell.

A WIN OVER NO. 21 PRINCETON WOULD:

• Be Cornell's first victory over the Tigers since the 2016-17 season.
• Snap Princeton's six-game win streak over the Big Red.
• Hand the Tigers only its second loss of the 2019-20 season, ultimately snapping Princeton's current 20-game win streak.
• Hand Princeton its first loss in conference play.
• Be the first win for the Big Red over a nationally-ranked opponent in program history.

SCOUTING NO. 21 PRINCETON (24-1, 12-0 Ivy):

• Princeton has had a near-perfect season thus far, with its only loss coming in an overtime heartbreaker to Iowa, 77-75, on Nov. 20. The Tigers have not lost since and are on a 20-game win streak, the second-longest in the NCAA.
• The Tigers are ranked in both major polls, coming in at No. 17 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 21 in the AP Poll.
• Princeton is the reigning NCAA.com Team of the Week after earning the Ivy League Regular Season Title and clinching its spot in Ivy Madness last weekend.
• The Tigers are led by two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Bella Alarie, who is averaging a conference-best 18.0 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game and was named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy's Midseason Team. She was also named a Katrina McClain Award Finalist.
• Alarie was honored as the USBWA National Player of the Week last week.
• Carlie Littlefield is also averaging double figures (13.4 ppg) while leading the team in assists at 3.2 per game.

SEASON NOTES TO KNOW:

• Samantha Widmann has started 77 and played in 103 consecutive games.
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich and Samantha Widmann have combined to lead the team in rebounding in 22 of Cornell's 24 contests during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Laura Bagwell-Katalinich and Samantha Widmann have scored in double-figures 18 and 17 times, respectively, this season.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS:

• With its 7-5 record in non-conference play, the Big Red has secured a winning non-conference record in seven of the last eight seasons.

SWITCHING THINGS UP:

• The Big Red has now gone with four different starting line-ups this season, throwing different looks at the opposition.
• Sophomores Samantha Will and Theresa Grace Mbanefo made their way into the starting line-up for the first time of their collegiate careers against Brown on Feb. 22.
• Mbanefo remained in the starting line-up for last weekend's contests against Dartmouth and Harvard, now having started three-consecutive games.
• Senior point guard Danielle Jorgenson started a pair of games on Feb. 14 against Harvard and Feb. 15 against Dartmouth. She brings a depth of starting experience to the floor, having started 53-straight games over her sophomore and junior seasons.
• Among these differences, junior guard Kate Sramac and senior guard/forward Samantha Widmann have been the constants, starting every game of the 2019-20 campaign.

ON THE BOARDS:

• The Big Red has hit the boards hard this season, regularly outrebounding its opponents and holding them to an Ivy League-best 30.9 rebounds per game.
• Cornell has mastered the art of creating second chances, leading the Ivy League in offensive rebounds at 14.9 per game.
• In addition, the Big Red currently ranks 27th in the nation and second in the Ivy League in rebounding margin, out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 7.5 rebounds per game.

SHARING THE WEALTH:

Cornell has been selfless with the basketball this season, leading the Ivy League as a team in assists/game (15.7) and having five student-athletes ranked in the top-25 of the conference in this statistical category: Kate Sramac (6th – 3.2 apg), Shannon Mulroy (12th – 2.6 apg), Samantha Widmann (17th – 2.4 apg), Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (19th – 2.3 apg), and Danielle Jorgenson (24th – 2.0 apg). Thanks to this team effort, Cornell sits 36th in the nation in assists/game.

STEALING THE SHOW:

Kate Sramac (2.2 spg) and Samantha Widmann (1.8 spg) have put the pressure on the opposition, forcing turnovers and collecting steals, as the pair currently ranks second and fourth, respectively, in the Ivy League in steals per game.
 
Sramac grabbed a career-high seven steals in Cornell's contest against Dartmouth on Feb. 15, a mark which ranks fourth all-time in Big Red women's basketball history for a single game. Widmann has had a knack for stealing the basketball over the course of her career, as her 173 career steals ranks sixth all-time in Cornell women's basketball history.

DYNAMIC DUO:

Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (13.8 ppg) and Samantha Widmann (13.4 ppg) have been the core of the Big Red offense, scoring in double-figures 18 and 17 times, respectively, this season. The pair has combined to lead the team in scoring in 20 of the Big Red's 24 contests in 2019-20. Both Bagwell-Katalinich and Widmann have scored 20+ points five times this year.

REBOUNDING MAGNETS:

Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (7.1 rpg) and Samantha Widmann (6.6 rpg) have been key contributors to Cornell's strong rebounding presence, as one of the two has led the team in rebounding in 22 of Cornell's 24 contests this season. The pair currently ranks fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Ivy League in rebounds per game.

WIDMANN SURPASSES 1,000:

With her second basket in Cornell's contest against Columbia on Jan. 25, 2020, Samantha Widmann became the 15th player in Big Red women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points. Widmann has now scored 1,140 points for her career, the 13th-most in program history. She needs just nine more points to move into 12th all-time.

MOVING ON UP:

Samantha Widmann has worked her way into the top-10 all-time in Cornell women's basketball history in career offensive rebounds (4th - 220), career defensive rebounds (6th - 385), and career rebounds (8th - 605), as well as career steals (6th - 173).

WILL-POWER:

Samantha Will stepped up for the Big Red in its two contests against Yale on Feb. 21 and Brown on Feb. 22. Against the Bulldogs, Will had already surpassed her career-high for points by halftime, notching 10 points by the half en route to a team- and game-high 16 points. Her previous career-high was eight points at Harvard during the 2018-19 season. After this performance, Will made her way into the starting line-up against Brown and scored in double-figures for the second-straight game, scoring 13 points.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS:

As a team, Cornell ranks within the top-100 of the NCAA in the following statistical categories:
• 25th in offensive rebounds per game (14.9)
• 27th in rebounding margin (+7.5)
• 36th in assists per game (15.7)
• 63rd in forced turnovers per game (18.3)
• 90th in field goal percentage (.418)
• 100th in steals per game (8.8)

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

• Samantha Widmann is making her presence known on the national stage, ranking in 58th in all of Division I in field goal percentage (.519).
• Kate Sramac has worked her way into the top-100 nationally in steals per game, sitting 78th at 2.2 steals per game.

IVY LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:

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 (.781), 5th in rebounding (7.1 rpg), 6th in field goal percentage (.466), 8th in scoring (13.8 ppg)
• Samantha Widmann – 2nd in field goal percentage (.521), 2nd in minutes played (35.0/game), 4th in steals (1.8 spg), 7th in rebounding (6.6 rpg), 9th in scoring (13.4 ppg)
• Kate Sramac – 2nd in steals (2.2 spg), 6th in assists (3.2 apg), 11th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.4)
• Shannon Mulroy – 11th in 3-PT field goals per game (1.4), 12th in assists (2.6 apg)
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo – 12th in blocks per game (0.7)

A CLASS OF HER OWN:

Laura Bagwell-Katalinich was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate women's basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
With this honor, Bagwell-Katalinich becomes only the second student-athlete in Cornell women's basketball history to be named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, joining Allyson DiMagno '14, who was in the running for the award for the 2013-14 season.

CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:

For the second time of her career, Cornell women's basketball senior forward Laura Bagwell-Katalinich has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team. An honoree in 2018-19 as well, Bagwell-Katalinich becomes only the second player in Big Red women's basketball history to earn a spot on CoSIDA's Academic All-District team multiple times in a career (Allyson DiMagno '14).

MULROY SWEEPS IVY LEAGUE PLAYER AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARDS:

After a spectacular performance in the Cornell women's basketball team's thrilling 80-77 overtime win over Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 25, freshman point guard Shannon Mulroy swept the Ivy League's weekly awards, being named both the conference's Player and Rookie of the Week.
 
With this accomplishment, Mulroy not only received the first Player and Rookie of the Week honors of her career, but she is only the second Big Red women's basketball student-athlete ever to earn both awards in the same week (Nia Marshall). In addition to receiving recognition from the Ivy League, Mulroy was also named the conference's Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.
 
The freshman made it rain, pouring in a game- and career-high 27 points and sinking seven 3-point baskets, just as many as the entire Columbia team. She shot an impressive 8-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-14 from long range, and her seven 3-pointers in a contest ranks third all-time in Cornell women's basketball history. She also went a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in some of the biggest moments of the contest.

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.

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 198 career victories, just two away from reaching 200 for her career.

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).