Women's Hoops Faces Final Double Ivy Weekend of the Season

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 

• The Cornell women’s basketball team opened the 2022-23 conference play by hosting Dartmouth on Sunday, Jan. 1, where it won, 61-48. The lone other conference victory came at Brown on January 28.
• The Big Red's five-game home win-streak was snapped by Columbia when the Lions took down Cornell 91-64 on MLK Jr. Day. The Big Red look to end the home stretch with a win against Yale on Senior Night next weekend.
• Picked sixth in the Ivy League Preseason media poll, the Big Red is coming off a 9-16 season and a sixth-place finish among the Ancient Eight.
• Cornell swept Ivy League weekly awards on January 3rd for the first time since the 2019-20 season when Shannon Mulroy won both Rookie and Player of the Week. This time around, Emily Pape won Rookie of the Week and Ania McNicholas took home the Player of the Week honor. Pape is one of the best shooters in the league, ranking third in the Ivy in shooting percentage at a .525 clip from the field.
• Freshman Emily Pape neared double-double territory in both of her first two collegiate outings (13 pts, 7 rebounds at Colgate; 7 pts, 10 rebounds at FDU). She tallied 27-points in the 66-61 win at Brown, the most by an active Cornellian since Shannon Mulroy, who also scored 27 in her freshman year. Pape earned her first career double-double at Penn with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and second at Brown with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
• Ania McNicholas is demonstrating true defensive prowess this season currently ranking 14th in the nation in steals (71), and 12th nationally in steals per game at 3.09 as of February 13, 2023. She earned the first triple-double for the Big Red since 1988 against Clarion this season (13 pts, 13 rbs, 10 stls).

THE SERIES 
Overall: Dartmouth leads, 62-23
In Hanovver, N.H.: Dartmouth, 35-6 (records do not indicate site prior to the 1980-81 season)
Current Streak: Cornell won one
Last Meeting: 61-48 win on Jan. 1, 2023
Smith vs. Brown: Cornell leads, 21-15
Series Notes:

• The Big Red played the Big Green a month ago. Cornell went into halftime with a 13-point lead and held onto that lead until the final buzzer, with a score of 61-48.
• Freshman Emily Pape made a strong case for Ivy League Rookie of the Week in that game, tallying a career-high five steals.
• Cornell is looking to extend its winning streak against Dartmouth to two. Brown is looking for their first win in Ithaca since the 2016-17 season. Cornell has won the last four at home and 8 of the last 10.

A WIN OVER DARTMOUTH WOULD ... 

• Allow Cornell to tie Brown in the current Ivy League standings.
• Be the 466th win in program history (465-759 in 52 seasons, .380).
   

LAST TIME OUT: Brown 76, Cornell 48
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY

• Cornell is coming off a tough afternoon against Brown on Saturday, ending with a final count of 76-48. Pape posted her eighth double-double in her last nine games. Mulroy added 13 points for her seventh game with double-digit scoring this season.
• The Big Red gave up the lead early on, getting outscored by 13 in the first quarter. The team bounced back well in the second, outscoring Brown 21-18.
• Cornell came out of halftime strong, outscoring Brown 18-12. However, the Big Red ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, getting outscored by the Bears 27-3.
   

Photos by Eldon Lindsay and Patrick Shanahan.