Cornell unveiled the women’s basketball schedule for the upcoming season on Thursday, a slate that starts with a slew of nonconference road games before the home schedule and Ivy League competition ramp up.
Cornell finished seventh in the Ivy League last season with a 7-20 overall record and a 3-10 mark in Ancient Eight play. Last year produced a clear top three teams in Princeton, Penn and Harvard — a tier the Red will aim to break into.
Here’s a look inside the schedule:
Nov. 9 at Binghamton
The Red starts the season with a trio of games against regional foes, starting with a road matchup with Binghamton, who it lost to at home last season.
Nov. 12 Albany
Cornell’s home opener will come on a Monday night against Albany, a team it didn’t face last season.
Nov. 15 at Colgate
Last season, the Red dropped a four-point contest to Colgate at home as part of a four-game losing streak to open the season. The Red travels to Hamilton to face the Raiders in a midweek tilt this season.
Nov. 17 UMass-Lowell
A November matchup with UMass-Lowell will be Cornell’s last home game in nearly a month. Last season, the Red downed Lowell in a New Year’s Eve game.
Nov. 23 at Minnesota, Nov. 25 at Colorado State
Perhaps the Red’s most notable nonconference tilt is its Thanksgiving weekend matchup with Minnesota. The Gophers, now under first-year head coach and 4-time WNBA champion Lindsay Whalen, finished 24-9 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The matchup with Minnesota is the first of four consecutive road contests. Seven of the Red’s first 10 games will take place away from Newman Arena, including a trip to Colorado State after the game in Minneapolis.
Nov. 29 at Lehigh, Dec. 1 at Stony Brook, Dec. 15 Delaware State, Dec. 20 at Lafayette, Dec. 29 Hampton, Dec. 31 St. Bonaventure, Jan. 7 Vermont Technical College
Seven more nonconference games take the Red through 2018 and into winter break, before the team picks up its intense Ivy League schedule.
Jan. 19 Columbia, Jan. 26 at Columbia
The Red will start its Ivy season against Columbia, the only team worse than Cornell last season. The Lions had just two wins in a lackluster 2017-18 campaign. The Red and Lions split the season series last year, with each team beating the other on their opponent’s home floor.
Feb. 1 Penn, Feb. 2 Princeton
After a pair of contests against Columbia, Cornell will hope to stay with Penn and Princeton, the Ivy League’s best two squads last season. Princeton posted a 12-2 conference record and was the league’s representative in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Tigers and Quakers dominated the Red. The closest Cornell got was a 14-point loss to Penn in February.
Feb. 8 Dartmouth, Feb. 9 Harvard
Cornell lost to both the Green and Crimson the first time around last season before splitting the series at home, beating Dartmouth in the season’s final game. Harvard beat Cornell by more than 20 points in both of the teams’ meetings.
Feb. 15 at Brown, Feb. 16 at Yale
The Red beat Brown by two points at home last season, and lost to the Bears on the road. Yale had Cornell’s number, beating the Red by 10 points twice. The Bears and Bulldogs are two teams Cornell will need to leapfrog in the standings in order to compete for a spot in the conference tournament.
Feb. 22 at Princeton, Feb. 23 at Penn
March 1 Yale, March 2 Brown
March 8 at Harvard, March 9 at Dartmouth
The Red concludes its season with visits to Harvard and Dartmouth, who finished near the top of the league and in the middle of the pack, respectively, last season.