Home Opener For Women's Hoops Nears

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 

• Cornell women's basketball will be searching for its first home win since Jan. 1, 2023 when it welcomes UAlbany to Newman Arena to open its 2023-24 home slate.
• The Big Red will take on the Great Danes on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 2:00 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.
• Senior captain Kaya Ingram has had a strong start to her last season on East Hill, leading Cornell in scoring in three of its four games so far while shooting 75.0 percent from the free throw line (24-32).
• Rachel Kaus has been a key player off the bench for the Big Red, sitting third in PPG (9.3) while shooting 85.0 percent from the charity stripe in four games. The first-year theme also carries over for Azareya Kilgoe, as the Seaford, Del. native has scored 29 points while leading Cornell with 13 assists handed out. 

THE SERIES 
First Meeting: Cornell, Dec. 3, 1999
Overall: Cornell leads, 9-0
In Overtime: N/A
Current Streak: Cornell, four games
Last Time: Cornell, 53-45 (12/3/22 in Troy, N.Y.)
Smith vs. UAlbany: 6-1 (5-0 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Series vs. UAlbany: 
•  Wednesday's game will be the 10th all-time matchup between the Big Red and the Great Danes.
•  Cornell has won four straight games against UAlbany, including a 53-45 victory last season on Dec. 3, 2022 in Troy, N.Y.
•  Ania McNicholas '23 (14 PTS, 5 REB) and Kaya Ingram (12 PTS, 3 AST) led the Big Red in the victory last season, leading wire-to-wire.

A WIN OVER UALBANY WOULD ... 

• Improve the Big Red to 3-2 on the year through five games for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
• Be the 220th win under head coach Dayna Smith.
• Keep Coach Smith undefeated against the Great Danes at home.
• Be the 469th win in program history (468-764 in 53 seasons, .380).

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 52, Mount St. Mary's 47
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY

• The Big Red picked its third-straight win over Mount St. Mary's (Md.) with a tight 52-47 victory on Saturday, Nov. 18 from Knott Arena. 
• Cornell outscored the Mount 24-20 in the opening half and had a season-low 17 turnovers while forcing 20 Mountaineers turnovers that led to 22 points.
• Senior captain Kaya Ingram led the Big Red with 15 points for the third time in three games while shooting 50 percent from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line.
• Upperclassmen counterpart Mia Beam followed Ingram with 11 points, including two of Cornell five three pointers on the night. Summer Parker-Hall had seven points and five boards to round out the top scorers for Cornell, who outrebounded Mount St. Mary's 33-26 in the victory.
• Cornell's 47 points allowed are the lowest the Big Red has give up since holding Dartmouth to 40 in a 13-point victory in Hanover, N.H. on Feb. 17, 2023. 
• Jo Raflo had a career night for the Mountaineers, netting a career-high 26 points on nine of 13 shooting, including eight three-pointers.