Women's Hoops Wraps Up Final Double Ivy Weekend of the Season at Harvard

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 .528 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, second at Brown with 27 points and 11 rebounds, and third at Dartmouth yesterday with 14 points and 10 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: Harvard leads, 73-14
In Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard leads 40-2 (records do not indicate site prior to the 1980-81 season)
Current Streak: Cornell lost one
Last Meeting: 66-53 loss on Jan. 21, 2023
Smith vs. Harvard: Harvard leads, 34-5
Series Notes:

• The Big Red played host to the Harvard Crimson a month ago where feshman Emily Pape led the Big Red in points and rebounds with 17 and 8, respectively.
• Last time out, Harvard proved why defense wins games. The Crimson forced 20 turnovers, three steals and an impressive six blocked shots in their win in January. 
• Cornell's last win against the Crimson came almost a year ago in Ithaca when the Big Red etched out a win with a close score of 52-49.
• Cornell is looking to get its second away win against Harvard in since 1981.

A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD ... 

• Be the second away win against the Crimson in recorded history.
• Allow Cornell to tie or pull ahead of Brown in the current Ivy League standings.
• Be Coach Smith's 100th Ivy League Win.
• Be the 467th win in program history (466-759 in 52 seasons, .380).
   

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 53, Dartmouth 40
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY

• Cornell is coming off a solid win over Dartmouth for the team's first season sweep over the Big Green since the 2013-14 season. Cornell won, 53-40, holding Dartmouth to its fewest points against an Ivy this season. Ingram led all scorers by tying her season high of 18 points and nine rebounds.
• Emily Pape also added double-digit points (14) for her ninth time in the past 10 games.
• Cornell never trailed, and never let the Big Green closer than nine points in the fourth quarter.
   

Photos by Eldon Lindsay and Patrick Shanahan.