ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will be in action at home for the second-straight weekend when it hosts Yale on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. before traveling to the Big Apple for a battle with Columbia on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium in New York, N.Y.
Game Information:
Cornell vs. Yale
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 at 2 p.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 6-7, 1-1 Ivy League / Yale 8-6, 1-1 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3fcVPhc)
STATS: cornellbigred.com (bit.ly/3bTZ3oo)
GAME NOTES
SPECTATOR POLICY
TICKETS
Cornell at Columbia
DATE/TIME: Monday, Jan. 17, 2022 at 2 p.m.
SITE: Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium – New York, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 6-7, 1-1 Ivy League / Columbia 10-3, 1-0 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3r6BMqt)
STATS: gocolumbialions.com (bit.ly/3HMGpg6)
GAME NOTES
What's on Tap:
• Not one, but two, games lie ahead for the Cornell women's basketball team over the long weekend, starting with a battle with Yale on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. The contest marks the second-straight weekend that the Big Red will be in action at home and is the final game before a series that sees Cornell play five of its next six games on the road.
• Kicking off the road-laden stretch of schedule is Cornell's second game of the long weekend at Columbia on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium in New York, N.Y.
• The 2021-22 campaign marks the first season that conference play will be over the course of 10 weeks rather than the traditional eight-week slate.
• Under the new structure, there will be six one-opponent weekends and three of the league's signature back-to-back weekends during conference play. Each team will also have a contest on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. League play will conclude with a single-game weekend against each institution's travel partner.
How to Watch:
• The games against Yale and Columbia will be broadcast on ESPN+, along with Cornell's entire slate of Ivy League games for the remainder of the season. ESPN+ is available to fans in the U.S. for $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 hung tough for three periods of play, but a big second quarter for Princeton laid the groundwork for the Tigers to walk away with a 65-41 victory on Saturday, Jan. 8 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
• With the loss, the Big Red fell to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, having defeated Dartmouth, 45-36, in its conference opener on Jan. 2 at Leede Arena for just Cornell's sixth victory in program history over the Big Green in Hanover, N.H.
• Senior forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo led the Big Red in scoring for the sixth time this season against Princeton, finishing the contest with nine points and adding three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Mbanefo continues to be a blocking machine, as she has now notched multiple blocks eight separate times this year.
• Sophomore guard Kaya Ingram scored a career-high eight points, including shooting 2-of-4 from behind the arc, while also posting a career-best two assists and career-high two steals.
• Junior guard Ania McNicholas chipped in seven points, rounding out the stat sheet once again with three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
The Series vs. Yale:
• Yale leads the all-time series, 54-29, dating all the way back to 1974-75.
• The series has been neck-and-neck since 2000, however, with both teams even at 19-19.
• The last four seasons that Yale and Cornell have gone head-to-head have been an "all or nothing" ordeal, with the Big Red completing the season sweep of the Bulldogs in 2016-17 and 2018-19 and Yale sweeping Cornell in 2017-18 and 2019-20.
• The Bulldogs won both meetings between the two teams in 2019-20, including a 74-67 win over Cornell on Feb. 1, 2020 in Ithaca, N.Y. and a 65-51 victory on Feb. 21, 2020 in New Haven, Conn.
Scouting Yale:
• Yale owns an 8-6 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference play so far this season. The Bulldogs fell to Columbia, 65-55, in its Ivy opener on Jan. 2 in New York, N.Y. before clinching its first conference win of the year over Harvard, 80-73, in its most recent outing on Jan. 8.
• Sophomore Elles van der Maas led Yale in scoring in the victory over Harvard, netting a career-high 22 points, including draining six three-pointers, en route to being named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week.
• Jenna Clark had a point-assist double-double in Yale's win over the Crimson, scoring 15 points and dishing out a career-high 10 assists in the win over the Crimson.
• Clark leads the Ivy League and ranks 11th in all of Division I in assists per game (6.1).
• Camilla Emsbo has made her presence known, leading the Bulldogs in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (10.4 rpg), and blocking (2.6 bpg). Averaging a double-double on the season, it comes as no surprise that Emsbo has notched nine double-doubles in 14 games this season. Her nine double-doubles is the seventh-most nationally.
• Emsbo leads the league in three statistical categories, including blocks per game, rebounds per game, and field goal percentage (.524).
• Emsbo's 2.6 blocks per game sits 12th in all of Division I.
A Win Over Yale Would:
• Even Cornell's record to 7-7 on the season and improve the Big Red to 2-1 in Ivy League play.
• Give the Big Red its third win in its last four games.
• Prevent Yale from extending its win-streak over the Big Red to three games.
The Series vs. Columbia:
• The Big Red have historically been successful against the Lions, holding a 51-27 series advantage over Columbia dating back to the 1975-76 season when the team represented Barnard College.
• Cornell dominated the series throughout the 1990s, winning 17 of the 20 matchups from 1990-91 to 1999-2000, including a series-high 12 straight from 1993 to 2000.
• Currently, the Big Red has won 15 of the last 19 outings, including the last time the two teams met on Jan. 25, 2020 in a thrilling 80-77 overtime victory for the Big Red in Ithaca, N.Y.
• Then-freshman Shannon Mulroy was on fire in that contest, knocking down a career-high seven 3-point field goals en route to a career- and game-high 27 points.
• Mulroy was also the one who helped send the game into overtime, driving to the rim and getting fouled shooting a pull-up jumper with five seconds left on the clock. She stepped up to the charity stripe with poise and confidence, converting both free throws to even the score up at 71-71 and send the game into overtime.
• Columbia and Cornell ultimately split its two contests in 2019-20, with the Lions emerging victorious by a score of 76-66 the last time the two teams met at Levien Gymnasium on Jan. 18, 2020.
Scouting Columbia:
• Heading into the long weekend of competition, Columbia boasts a 10-3 overall and 1-0 conference record, having defeated Yale, 65-55, in its last outing and Ivy opener on Jan. 2 in New York, N.Y.
• The Lions made a statement in non-conference play, earning just the program's second-ever win against an ACC opponent when junior Carly Rivera hit a go-ahead three with 21.5 second remaining to lift Columbia over Clemson, 82-78, on Nov. 14 in Clemson, S.C. The Lions trailed by as many as 14, storming back to post the upset.
• Columbia opened the season 5-0 for the first time in program history.
• The Lions are led offensively by Abbey Hsu, who's 17.4 points per game rank second in the Ivy League.
• Hsu has made more 3-pointers than just about anyone in Division I so far this season, as her 3.6 treys per game and 47 made 3-pointers on the season both rank fourth nationally.
• Carly Rivera leads the Ivy League in assists, along with Yale's Jenna Clark, at 6.1 per game, a mark which sits 11th in all of Division I.
• Two-time Ivy League Player of the Week (Nov. 22, Dec. 6) Kaitlyn Davis leads the team in rebounding, averaging 13.4 points and 8.0 boards per game. Her 8.0 rebounds per game sits fourth in the conference, while her 1.4 blocks per contest ranks fifth.
A Win Over Columbia Would:
• Make Cornell 20-4 against the Lions since the 2010-11 campaign.
• Be the Big Red's first victory over Columbia at Levien Gymnasium since Jan. 20, 2018.
• Improve head coach Dayna Smith's record against the Lions to 23-14.
Ivy League Preseason Predictions:
• The Big Red was predicted to finish sixth overall in the conference this season, per the 2021-22 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll. Cornell received a total of 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.
Big Red Blurbs:
• Each of the Big Red's six wins this season have come when Cornell has limited its opponents to less than 60 points. The Big Red holds a 6-1 record on the year when doing so.
• The Big Red's 45-36 wire-to-wire victory over Dartmouth on Sunday, Jan. 2 was the third time this season that Cornell led from start to finish in a win, also doing so against Colgate in the team's 53-34 season opening victory on Nov. 10, 2021 and in an 82-48 win over Lock Haven on Dec. 29, 2021.
• Ania McNicholas has been the definition of "filling the stat sheet," this season, as the junior guard is averaging 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 steals, and 2.5 assists per game so far this year.
• While McNicholas ranks among the top-15 of the conference of three of those categories (rebounds, steals, and assists), her pesky, turnover-inducing defense stands out, as her 2.6 steals per game sits second in the Ivy League. McNicholas has collected multiple steals in nine of 12 games so far this season.
• The duo of Shannon Mulroy (2.9) and Ania McNicholas (2.5) has done a great job of distributing the basketball so far this season, ranking third and sixth, respectively, in the conference in assists per game.
• Cornell's effort on the offensive glass so far this season has been relentless, as the Big Red sits second in the Ivy League at 13.8 offensive boards per game. Theresa Grace Mbanefo (42), Olivia Snyder (37), and Ania McNicholas (25) have accounted for 58 percent of Cornell's offensive rebounds, helping the Big Red hold the advantage in the category in nine of the 13 games it has played so far this season.
• The Big Red has also done a great job of keeping its opponents off the boards, ranking second in the Ivy League as a team in rebounding defense (34.0 rebounds per game).
• Mbanefo (8.2) and Snyder (7.8) both rank among the top-five of the Ivy League in rebounds per game, sitting third and fifth, respectively.
• Mbanefo has also been a blocking machine, as her 1.9 blocks per game ranks third in the conference and 41st nationally. Olivia Snyder sits among the top-10 of the Ivy League in blocks as well, as her 0.7 blocks per game ranks ninth.
• Mbanefo has scored in double figures in nine of 12 games so far this season and is currently shooting .504 from the floor, a percentage which sits second in the Ivy League.
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.
• Smith's record sits at 204-300 for her career.
Team Leaders:
• Points – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 12.3 points per game
• Field Goals Made – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 5.3 per game
• Field Goal Percentage – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, .504
• 3-point Field Goals Made – KC Carter, 1.1 per game
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage – KC Carter, .371
• Free Throw Percentage – Olivia Snyder, .769 (20-of-26)
• Rebounding – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 8.2 rebounds per game
• Assists – Shannon Mulroy, 2.9 assists per game
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Samantha Will, 1.1
• Blocks – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 1.9 blocks per game
• Steals – Ania McNicholas, 2.6 steals per game
• Minutes – Shannon Mulroy, 31.2 minutes per game
A Look Back in Time:
• The last season the Big Red was in action in 2019-20, Cornell finished the year with a 10-16 overall record and a 3-11 mark in conference play, finishing seventh in the Ivy League.
• 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 has 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 have been elected as tri-captains of the team for the 2021-22 season.
• Mulroy is the team's top returning 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.
Up Next:
• The Cornell women's basketball team will continue its stretch of five road trips in a six-game span when it travels to Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Mass.
