Western Kentucky On Deck for Women's Hoops

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 

• Cornell women's basketball looks to tally back-to-back road wins for the first time since Dec. 5 last season when it travels to Bowling Green, Ky. to face Western Kentucky.
• The Big Red will take on the Toppers on Monday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 p.m.
• The Big Red was selected seventh in the Ivy League preseason media poll. Cornell finished 10-17 in the 2022-23 season, ending at seventh in the Ancient Eight. The Big Red tallied a road win over Brown and a sweep over Dartmouth in conference play.
• Sophomore Emily Pape returns after a strong debut season. In her rookie season, she paced the Big Red in points per game (11.2) and ranked second in points (291). Pape's field goal percentage of 52.4 percent ranked atop the Ivy and 46th on a national scale at the end of last season. She broke the 20-point mark in her second game of the season, tallying 26 points against Southern Illinois.
• The Big Red lost three seniors at the conclusion of last season. Between the trio, they either let the Big Red or were the team's runner-up in points, points per game, minutes played, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Ania McNicholas, one of two captains from the 2022-23 season, finished out the year leading the conference in steals (75), and ranked 18th nationally in steals per game at 2.78. She also was tied for first in the league in triple-doubles.

THE SERIES 
First Meeting: 2022-23
Overall: Cornell leads, 1-0
In Overtime: N/A
Current Streak: Cornell, one game
Last Time: Cornell, 57-50 (11/25/22 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Smith vs. WKU: 1-0 (Never competed in Bowling Green, Ky.)
Series vs. WKU: 
•  Cornell holds a 1-0 advantage all time over the Toppers.
•  In last season's meeting, Cornell never gave up its lead in the contest, despite a several runs by WKU to bring up a one point spreads. Senior captain Ania McNicholas tallied her fourteenth double-digit scoring games with a team-high 17 points. She also led the Big Red in steals, notching seven in the contest.
•  The Big Red win came on Coach Smith's birthday last season, marking just the second ever on the day, moving the record on Nov. 25th to 2-4 all-time. This was the first win since 2007.

A WIN OVER WESTERN KENTUCKY WOULD ... 

• Be the first back-to-back wins for Cornell since the Big Red defeated Clarion and Dartmouth last season on Dec. 28, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023.
• Mark the first back-to-back road wins since defeating UAlbany and Hartford on Dec. 3 and 5, last season..
• Keep the Big Red undefeated all-time against the Toppers.
• Be the 468th win in program history (467-763 in 53 seasons, .380)

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 80, Southern Illinois 77
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY

• The Big Red tallied the first win of the 2023-24 season with an 80-77 win over Southern Illinois.
• The late-game push by the Salukis was outlasted when a pair Kaya Ingram free throws and made layup by Summer Parker-Hall gave the Big Red the edge it needed to close out the game.
• Sophomore Emily Pape led the way with 26 points, her most since tallying 27 at Brown on Jan. 28, 2023. Pape was one of three Big Red players with a team-high six rebounds.
• Junior Summer Parker-Hall and sophomore Vivienne Knee each accounted for the other sets of six.
• Senior captain Kaya Ingram ranked second on the team in points, accounting for 14.
• Parker-Hall followed with 11 points. Freshmen Azareya Kilgoe and Rachel Kaus each notched new career-highs with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kilgoe led the Big Red in assists with six.
• The 80 Big Red points marks the most since Dec. 28, 2022 when the Big Red downed Division II opponent 93-49.
• Shemera Williams led the Salukis with 19 points, followed by Jaidynn Mason, who accounted for 18. Laniah Randle was the only other double-digit scorer for SIU, who tallied 12 points in addition to a game-best 14 rebounds