ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team will open a stretch of games that sees the Big Red on the road for five of its next six contests when it squares off against Columbia on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium in New York and Harvard on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Mass.
Game Information:
Cornell at Columbia
DATE/TIME: Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 at 5 p.m.
SITE: Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium – New York, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 6-8, 1-2 Ivy League / Columbia 11-3, 2-0 Ivy League
BROADCAST: SNY (Tape Delayed, 9 p.m.) / ESPN+ (es.pn/3tDWAbU)
STATS: gocolumbialions.com (bit.ly/3HMGpg6)
GAME NOTES
Cornell at Harvard
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at 2 p.m.
SITE: Lavietes Pavilion – Cambridge, Mass.
RECORDS: Cornell 6-8, 1-2 Ivy League / Harvard 8-9, 2-3 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3IhpLFK)
STATS: gocrimson.com (bit.ly/3qELBwK)
GAME NOTES
What's on Tap:
• Cornell will embark on a stretch of games that sees the Big Red play five of its next six games on the road, starting with contests at Columbia on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium in New York and at Harvard on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Mass.
• The Big Red's game against Columbia on Thursday was rescheduled from Monday, Jan. 17, as the contest was postponed due to inclement weather.
• Cornell will look to make it two-straight wins over Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion, having defeated the Crimson, 55-47, the last time the two teams met on Feb. 29, 2020 for the Big Red's first win over Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. in program history.
• The head coaching match-up of Dayna Smith, the Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, and Harvard's Kathy Delaney-Smith is a battle between the two longest-tenured active coaches in the Ivy League. Smith is in her 20th year, while Delaney-Smith is in her 40th.
How to Watch:
• The games against Columbia and Harvard 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.
• The Big Red's contest against Columbia on Thursday will also be available on SportsNet New York (SNY) in select viewing areas on tape delay, re-airing at 9 p.m.
Last Time Out:
• Despite having multiple student-athletes put together season-best performances, Cornell was unable to slow down Yale, falling to the Bulldogs, 62-44, on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
• With the loss, the Big Red dropped to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in Ivy League play.
• Senior guard Samantha Will was among Cornell's top performers on the day, netting a game-high and season-best 14 points, just two points shy of her career-high of 16. Will was feeling it from deep, knocking down a career-best three 3-pointers and shooting 4-of-6 from the floor in the contest.
• Junior guard Ania McNicholas and freshman guard Lexi Green each added nine points, with Green's point total marking a new career-high. Green's two rebounds and two steals in the contest were also career-bests.
• McNicholas' well-rounded play is quickly becoming her signature, as she also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and corralled a game-high four steals.
The Series vs. Columbia:
• The Big Red has 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 Thursday's contest, Columbia boasts an 11-3 overall and 2-0 conference record, having defeated Harvard, 72-64, in its last outing on Jan. 15 in Cambridge, Mass. and extending its win streak to three games. The Lions are winners of six of its last seven contests.
• 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 seconds 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 17.6 points per game rank second in the Ivy League. Hsu is the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from deep in Columbia's win over Harvard.
• Hsu has made more 3-pointers than just about anyone in Division I so far this season, as her 3.7 treys per game and 52 made 3-pointers on the season rank third and fifth nationally, respectively.
• Carly Rivera ranks second in the Ivy League in assists, as her 5.9 helpers per game sits 16th 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 third in the conference, while her 1.4 blocks per contest ranks fourth.
A Win Over Columbia Would:
• Improve Cornell to 7-8 overall and even its record to 2-2 in conference action.
• Hand the Lions its first Ivy League loss and snap its three-game winning streak.
• 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.
The Series vs. Harvard:
• Harvard owns a commanding 71-13 series advantage over the Big Red dating back to 1974-75.
• Of Cornell's 13 wins over the Crimson, only one has come in Cambridge, Mass.
• That one victory in Cambridge, Mass. came the last time the two teams squared off in what was a historic, 55-47 victory for the Big Red on Feb. 29, 2020. It snapped a five-game losing streak for Cornell to the Crimson dating back to the 2017-18 season.
• Theresa Grace Mbanefo played a key role in the victory, recording her first-career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• The two teams split its two contests during the 2019-20 season, with Harvard defeating Cornell, 73-58, on Feb. 14, 2020 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Scouting Harvard:
• Harvard enters Saturday's contest with an 8-9 overall and 2-3 conference record, handing Dartmouth a 96-62 loss in the Crimson's last game on Jan. 17 in Cambridge, Mass.
• Cornell's game against the Crimson comes in the middle of a stretch of games that sees Harvard play six of seven at home. Harvard is a solid 4-1 at home so far this season.
• Harvard has shot distinctly well from behind the arc this year, as the team's 158 made field goals on the year ranks seventh in all of Division I and its 9.3 3-point makes per game ranks 10th in the nation.
• The Crimson are led in points, rebounds, and steals by Harmoni Turner, who is averaging 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. Turner sits third in the conference in two of those three categories – points and steals.
• Turner bestowed Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors in three-straight weeks from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3, sweeping the conference's weekly honors and being named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Dec. 27.
• Lola Mullaney is Harvard's top 3-point shooting threat, sitting second in the Ivy League in 3-point field goals made per game (2.5) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.361). She's averaging 13.7 points per game.
• Harvard has four student-athletes that rank in the top-10 of the conference in assists per game, including Maggie McCarthy (2.7), Turner (2.6), Tess Sussman (2.4), and McKenzie Forbes (2.3).
A Win Over Harvard Would:
• Be Cornell's second-straight win over the Crimson.
• Be the Big Red's second-consecutive win over Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and just the second road victory for Cornell over the Crimson in program history.
• Hand the Crimson just its second loss at home this season.
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.
• Ania McNicholas has been the definition of "filling the stat sheet," this season, as the junior guard is averaging 7.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 2.4 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 2.7 steals per game leads the Ivy League and sits 31st in all of Division I. McNicholas has collected multiple steals in 10 of 13 games so far this season.
• If McNicholas can keep up this pace for the remainder of the season, her 2.7 steals per game would rank second all-time in program history for a single season.
• The duo of Shannon Mulroy (3.1) and Ania McNicholas (2.4) has done a great job of distributing the basketball so far this season, ranking third and eighth, 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 third in the Ivy League at 13.4 offensive boards per game. Theresa Grace Mbanefo's 44 offensive rebounds this season leads the team, helping the Big Red hold the advantage in the category in nine of the 14 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 (34.4 rebounds per game).
• Mbanefo (7.8) and Snyder (7.3) both rank among the top-10 of the Ivy League in rebounds per game, sitting fourth and sixth, respectively.
• The pair of Mbanefo and Snyder also represents the Big Red's two top-scoring presences, with Mbanefo averaging 11.8 points per game and Snyder averaging 9.3. Either Mbanefo or Snyder has led Cornell in scoring in 10 of the Big Red's 14 contests this season, while leading Cornell in rebounding in nine of Cornell's 14 games.
• Mbanefo has also been a blocking machine, as her 2.0 blocks per game ranks second in the conference and 32nd nationally. Olivia Snyder sits among the top-10 of the Ivy League in blocks as well, as her 0.6 blocks per game ranks ninth.
• If Mbanefo continues to stuff shots at this pace, her 2.0 blocks per game would rank second all-time in Cornell women's basketball history for a single season. The single season record of 2.1 was set by Lynell Davis during the 2001-02 season.
• Mbanefo has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games so far this season and is currently shooting .486 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 years).
• She is also fourth all-time in years served as a head coach in the Ivy League.
• Smith's record sits at 204-301 for her career.
Team Leaders:
• Points – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 11.8 points per game
• Field Goals Made – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 5.2 per game
• Field Goal Percentage – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, .486
• 3-point Field Goals Made – Samantha Will and KC Carter, 1.0 per game
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage – KC Carter, .371
• Free Throw Percentage – Olivia Snyder, .769 (20-of-26)
• Rebounding – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 7.8 rebounds per game
• Assists – Shannon Mulroy, 3.1 assists per game
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Shannon Mulroy, 1.1
• Blocks – Theresa Grace Mbanefo, 2.0 blocks per game
• Steals – Ania McNicholas, 2.7 steals per game
• Minutes – Shannon Mulroy and Samantha Will, 30.8 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 return to Newman Arena for its lone home contest in a six-game span when it hosts Brown on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.
