ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will kick off a home double header for the Big Red men's and women's basketball teams when it squares off against UAlbany on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.

Game Information:

Cornell vs. UAlbany
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021 at 1 p.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 2-3, 0-0 Ivy League / UAlbany 1-1, 0-0 America East
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3CHDDFR)
STATS: cornellbigred.com (bit.ly/3bTZ3oo)
GAME NOTES

What's on Tap:

•   The Cornell women's basketball team will take on UAlbany on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. in the first game of a men's and women's double-header. The men will follow with a 4 p.m. contest against Saint Francis (Pa.).
•   The game against UAlbany falls in a stretch that features three home contests in four outings for the Big Red. Cornell clashed with Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, Nov. 20, and after a road bout with Lafayette at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 28 following the UAlbany game, the Big Red will be back at Newman Arena for a battle with UMass-Lowell at 7 p.m. on Dec. 1.

How to Watch:

•   The game against UAlbany will be broadcast on ESPN+, along with all of Cornell's home contests and its entire slate of Ivy League games over the course of the season. ESPN+ is available to fans in the U.S. for $4.99/event, $6.99/month, or $69.99/year (http://plus.espn.com/). A similar international platform at the same price point is available for fans outside of the U.S., featuring both live and archived games.

Last Time Out:

•   Cornell struggled to find its offensive footing, falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, 63-32, on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
•   Theresa Grace Mbanefo and Shannon Mulroy led the Big Red in scoring with nine points apiece.
•   Mbanefo has paced Cornell in scoring in three of the five contests it has played so far this season, including pouring in a game- and career-high 27 points and 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive, in the Big Red's 67-57 victory over Binghamton on Nov. 17. The performance marked Mbanefo's second double-double of the season and the first 20-point outing of her career.
•   Cornell was led in rebounding against Fairleigh Dickinson by junior guard Ania McNicholas, who pulled down a game-high eight boards and added a game-best three steals and three points.
•   McNicholas currently leads Cornell and ranks fifth in the Ivy League in steals at 2.2 per game, while also ranking third on the team in rebounding (6.0 per game) as a guard.
•   Freshman forward Jada Davis corralled a career-best five rebounds and notched a block in a game for the third time this season.
•   Freshman guard Lexi Green scored her first collegiate points with four.

The Series vs. UAlbany:

•   Cornell and UAlbany have met eight times, with Cornell holding a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 1999-00 season.
•   The Big Red has won each of the last two meetings between the two schools, with Cornell's only loss to the Great Danes coming in the 2009-10 season when Albany picked up an 80-55 victory on Nov. 29, 2009 in Albany, N.Y.
•   Cornell has never fallen to the Great Danes at home, holding a 4-0 record in Ithaca, N.Y.
•   The last time the two teams faced off was in Cornell's 2019-20 season opener, with Samantha Widmann '20's double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds) guiding the Big Red to a convincing 71-51 victory on Nov. 8, 2019 in Albany, N.Y.
•   Ania McNicholas scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the contest in what was her collegiate debut. Theresa Grace Mbanefo notched eight points, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor.

Cornell vs. the America East:

•   Cornell holds a 28-30 all-time record against members of the America East.
•   UAlbany is the second of three America East opponents for the Big Red this season, as Cornell defeated Binghamton, 67-57, on Nov. 17 in Vestal, N.Y. The Big Red's third and final game against an America East school will be on Dec. 1 against UMass-Lowell.
•   Overall, the Big Red has a winning record vs. Albany (7-1), UMass Lowell (3-0), and UMBC (2-0).
•   Cornell has a losing record vs. Binghamton (9-11), Hartford (0-2), Maine (0-1), New
Hampshire (1-5), Stony Brook (2-4) and Vermont (4-6).
•   Coach Smith is 18-20 all-time vs. the America East.

Scouting UAlbany:

•   UAlbany's season is still in its infancy, as the Great Danes will have only played two games heading into Wednesday's contest.
•   The Great Danes sit at 1-1 on the season, having defeated Hofstra in its season opener, 70-41, on Nov. 10 before falling to Merrimack, 65-52, on Nov. 16.
•   UAlbany was predicted to finish fifth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Great Danes placed fourth in the America East during the 2020-21 season, finishing 7-11 overall and 5-7 in conference action.
•   The Great Danes return five of its top six scorers from a season ago, including its top-two scorers in Helene Haegerstrand (10.3 ppg) and Ellen Hahne (9.9 ppg).
•   UAlbany also returns its top three rebounders from 2021-22, including Hahne (6.8 rpg), Lucia Decortes (4.9 rpg), and Kayla Cooper (4.8 rpg). Decortes also led the Great Danes in blocks a season ago with 28 on the year, with her 1.6 blocks per game leading the America East.
•   Ellen Hahne is leading UAlbany in scoring so far this season at 15.0 ppg, with redshirt sophomore Morgan Haney leading the team in rebounding at 6.0 rpg.
•   Sophomore Kayla Cooper and freshman Lilly Phillips are both averaging 2.0 assists per game.

A Win Over UAlbany Would:

•   Even Cornell's record to 3-3 on the season.
•   Mark the third-straight win for the Big Red over the Great Danes.
•   Preserve the Big Red's perfect mark against UAlbany at home, making it 5-0.
•   Make Cornell 2-0 against America East opponents this season.
•   Improve head coach Dayna Smith to 5-1 against UAlbany and 19-20 all-time vs. the America East.

Coaching Connections:

•   During her time as an assistant coach and interim head coach at the University of Rhode Island from 1996-99, Dayna Smith recruited UAlbany head coach Colleen Mullen to play for the Rams. Mullen spent two seasons in 1999-00 and 2000-01 at URI before transferring to the University of New Hampshire.
•   Cornell assistant coach Val Klopfer served as an assistant at UAlbany for the 2002-03 season before joining the Cornell coaching staff.

The Big 2-0-0:

•   Dayna Smith, The Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, who is in her 20th year at the helm of the program, notched her 200th career victory on Nov. 17 with the Big Red's 67-57 victory over Binghamton in Vestal, N.Y.
•   With her 200th victory, Smith became only the sixth coach in Ivy League women's basketball history to amass 200 career victories at an Ivy school.
•   The winningest coach in Cornell women's basketball history and the sixth-winningest in Ivy League history, she is the second-longest tenured active women's basketball coach in the conference (Harvard's Kathy Delaney-Smith, 40 seasons).
•   She is also fourth all-time in years served as a head coach in the Ivy League.

A Night to Remember:

•   Theresa Grace Mbanefo's 27-point, 13-rebound outing was one for the senior to remember, as it wasn't only her first-career 20-point outing, but her 27 points ranks second in the Ivy League for a single game so far this season.
•   In addition, her 13 made field goals that night is a league-best for a single contest this year, while her 13 rebounds sits fifth.

Cleaning the Glass:

•   After a monster night on the glass against Binghamton on Nov. 17 that saw the Big Red out-rebound the Bearcats, 49-21, Cornell ranks 58th in all of Division I in rebounds, pulling down 183 as a team in its first five contests.
•   Cornell's 49 rebounds against the Bearcats is the most by a team in the Ivy League for a single game so far this season.
•   Theresa Grace Mbanefo (8.2 rpg), Olivia Snyder (7.2 rpg), and Ania McNicholas (6.0 rpg) are leading the rebounding brigade for Cornell, sitting third, sixth, and 10th respectively, in the conference in rebounds per game.
•   At the same time, Cornell is holding its opponents to an Ivy League-best 33.2 rebounds per game.

Block Party:

•   Led by Theresa Grace Mbanefo's eight blocked shots on the season, a mark which ranks third in the Ivy League and 44th in all of Division I, Cornell sits second as a team in the conference in blocked shots per game (4.60).
•   The Big Red's 23 blocked shots on the season as a team leads the Ivy League and ranks 30th in the nation.
•   Thanks in part to Cornell's ability to stuff shots, combined with tough defense, the Big Red is limiting its opponents to just 56.8 points per game, a mark which ranks third in the conference.

NCAA Individual Rankings:

•   Theresa Grace Mbanefo ranks 24th in double doubles (2), 36th in field goals made (30), 44th in rebounds (41), and 44th in blocked shots (8).
•   Samantha Will ranks 43rd in minutes played (163:56).

Ivy League Individual Rankings:

•   Theresa Grace Mbanefo ranks first in the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.566), third in rebounds per game (8.2), fourth in blocks per game (1.6), and eighth in points per game (13.6).
•   Shannon Mulroy ranks fourth in the conference in assists per game (3.0) and assist to turnover ratio (0.9).
•   Olivia Snyder ranks sixth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.2) and eighth in blocked shots per game (0.8).
•   Ania McNicholas ranks fifth in the conference in steals per game (2.2) and 10th in rebounds per game (6.0).
•   Samantha Will ranks ninth in the conference in minutes played per game (32.6).

Team Leaders:

•   Points – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 13.6 points per game
•   Field Goals Made – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 6.0 per game
•   Field Goal Percentage – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, .566
•   3-point Field Goals Made – KC Carter, 1.2 per game
•   3-point Field Goal Percentage – KC Carter, .400
•   Free Throw Percentage – Shannon Mulroy, .688 (11-of-16)
•   Rebounding – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 8.2 rebounds per game
•   Assists – Shannon Mulroy, 3.0 assists per game
•   Assist-To-Turnover Ratio – Shannon Mulroy, 0.90
•   Blocks – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 1.6 blocks per game
•   Steals – Ania McNicholas, 2.2 steals per game
•   Minutes – Samantha Will, 32.6 minutes per game

A Look Back in Time:

•   The last time the Big Red was in action in 2019-20, Cornell finished the season with a 10-16 overall record and a 3-11 mark in conference play, finishing seventh in the Ivy League.
•   Cornell notched a historical win over Harvard that season, defeating the Crimson, 55-47, at Lavietes Pavilion on Feb. 29, 2020 for the team's first win over Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. in program history. Theresa Grace Mbanefo posted her first-career double-double in the contest with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
•   The Big Red will look to get back to the Ivy League Tournament this year for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when the team qualified for its first conference tournament after its creation in 2016-17.

Starting from (Almost) Scratch:

•   The Cornell women's basketball team will have a new look this season, returning only 27 percent of its minutes, 27 percent of its scoring, and 22 percent of its rebounding from the 2019-20 season.
•   Of the 14-player roster, eight suit up for the Big Red for the first time in the 2021-22 campaign.

Oh Captain, My Captain (s):

•   Senior forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo, senior guard Samantha Will, and junior guard Shannon Mulroy will serve as tri-captains of the team for the 2021-22 season.
•   Mulroy returns as the team's top scorer from 2019-20 when she averaged 8.3 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game. She appeared in all 26 games and made 23 starts while averaging 25.2 minutes of playing time per game, the most among all returners. She led the Big Red in 3-point makes (35) and shooting percentage from behind the arc (33.0) in her rookie season. She also ranked second on the team in assists and free throw percentage (.750) in 2019-20.
•   A guard with a calming presence on the floor, Will came into her own at the end of the 2019-20 season when she scored double-digits in back-to-back games for the first time of her career against Yale on Feb. 21, 2020 and Brown on Feb. 22, 2020.
•   Mbanefo is one of two forwards that returns from the 2019-20 roster. She played in all 26 games as a sophomore, making four starts and averaging 18.2 minutes per contest. She led Cornell in blocks (18) and ranked third on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.

The Lay of the Land:

•   In addition to Mbanefo, Mulroy, and Will, junior guard Ania McNicholas, junior guard KC Carter, and junior forward Anna Hovis return invaluable collegiate experience to a roster that is laden with newcomers.
•   Junior transfer Olivia Snyder adds an offensive mentality and knack for scoring the basketball to the Big Red roster.
•   Sophomore guards Mia Beam, Val Garcia-Martinez, and Kaya Ingram, as well as freshmen Jada Davis, Lexi Green, Arianna Linoxilakis, and Summer Parker-Hall all take the floor for Cornell for the first time this season.

Ivy Preseason Rankings:

•   The Big Red was picked sixth overall in the 2021-22 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll with 41 voter points.
•   The 2019-20 Ivy League Regular Season Champion Princeton was once again picked as the favorite to win the league this year, collecting 12 of a possible 16 first place votes and 122 points.
•   Penn, who returns the 2019-20 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and first team All-Ivy selection Kayla Padilla, was chosen second with three first place votes and 108 points.
•   The race for third, fourth, and fifth was close from there, with Columbia being picked third (87 points), Yale being chosen fourth (82 points), and Harvard's single first place vote helping the Crimson come in fifth (81 points).
•   Dartmouth (29 points) and Brown (27 points) rounded out the poll in seventh and eighth, respectively.

Up Next:

•   The Cornell women's basketball team will make the trip to Easton, Pa. for a 1 p.m. tip-off against Lafayette on Sunday, Nov. 28.