ITHACA, N.Y. – A new season. A new dynamic. Familiar faces combine with new opportunities to earn time on the court. All coming together for a chance to redefine what it means to be Cornell women's basketball. The team embarks on a new season as the 2022-23 slate gets underway next week at Colgate and this year's story is about creating a new identity. While fans will recognize many returning names in the Big Red roster, the loss of seniors Theresa Grace Mbanefo and Samantha Will opens new opportunities to earn court time, and new personnel leads to new court dynamics. With a big non-conference slate ahead, Cornell will face a number of different play styles and depths to challenge the Red in a new way each week.
 
The Big Red are looking to chase after their eighth Ivy League tournament appearance in program history. Picked to finish sixth in the 2022 Ivy League Preseason Poll, Cornell has some room to climb in the conference slate. The Red are no stranger to defying the odds though; in the 2018-19 season, Cornell was selected to finish last in the preseason poll, but battled all the way to fourth, earning a seat at the tournament.
 
Entering her 20th season, 21st year, The Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, Dayna Smith, becomes the longest-active tenured coach in the Ivy League. Smith knows that having the flashiest players in the league is not everything. "I always believe in hard work and being a team that out-works people. We might not always have the most talented players or the most talented roster from top to bottom, but we will always battle. There is a grit and a fight about us," Smith told ESPN in the 2022 Ivy League Media Day press conference.
 
Fans will recognize the Big Red's 2022-23 leadership from their presence on the court last season. Shannon Mulroy will return in her second stint as a captain for Cornell, joined by senior teammate Ania McNicholas. The two combined last year for over 400 points and over 130 assists across the season. Mulroy has tallied 16 double-digit scoring games in her career, including four 20+ point performances. McNicholas tallied 12 double-digit scoring performances just in the 2021-22 season. She tallied a career-high of 22 last year at Brown in the Big Red's 68-61 victory. Mulroy is returning as one of the top-5 assist leaders in the Ivy after averaging 2.9 per game.
 
Women's hoops will first take the court at Colgate on Monday, November 7 at 7 p.m., followed by a second road trip to FDU on Saturday, November 12. You can first catch your Big Red at home on Wednesday, November 16 at 7 p.m. when they take on Lafayette College in Newman Arena at Bartels Hall.