Only two games into the season, there’s already a buzzword floating around the women’s locker room at Newman Arena.

“We need to continue to be aggressive,” said junior guard Virginia McMu­nigal.

The women’s basketball team will take its new mantra to Indianapolis tomorrow determined to pull off an upset win against non-conference foe IUPUI.

In its first game of the year, against Duquesne, the Red saw what can happen when its lacks that aggressive style of play that head coach Dayna Smith has preached in practice. Out-rebounded, out-hustled, and simply out-played, the team knew there were improvements that needed to be made.

The women’s basketball team tightened up its defense and played aggressively last night, defeating instate rival Albany at Newman Arena, 50-46, to begin the Red’s home schedule.

Cornell (1-1) played a much more intense game than its lackluster season-opening matchup against Duquesne, when the Red forced only 17 turnovers and shot a poor 31.3%.

Against the Great Danes (0-3) however, the Red won the rebounding battle, 41-37, and grabbed five steals as the team heeded the advice of its coach to raise the intensity.

She got game: Junior guard Allie Fedorowicz (left) drives against an Albany defender last night at Newman Arena. Fedorowicz scored a career and game-high 19 points.

The University of Albany women’s basketball team apparently isn’t afraid of anyone. To open their 2008-09 schedule, the Great Danes first left New York to visit California, the ninth-ranked team in the nation, before facing off with the MAAC preseason favorite, Marist.

Albany will continue its tradition of facing high-profile opponents when it plays the defending Ivy League champs tonight at Newman Arena. After losing 63-39 to California and 74-56 at Marist, the Great Danes (0-2) are still looking for their first win of the season. The Red (0-1) will be trying to avoid the same 0-2 start Albany has had, but this early in the season, a win is almost an added bonus.

Despite a competitive opening to the game, the women’s basketball team lost its season opener and got the year off to a rough start, falling 93-49 against Duquesne in Pittsburgh.

Although the final score might not suggest it, the game began with a fiercely contested back-and-forth battle between the two teams, as Cornell (0-1) showed energy and athleticism on the Dukes’ home court. After opening the first half with a 4-0 lead, Duquesne (2-0) saw it slip away as junior Virginia McMunigal hit a 3-pointer and junior Lauren Benson took a steal the length of the court to put the Red up, 5-4.

The 2007-08 season was the most successful campaign in school history for the women’s basketball team. Eleven Ivy wins and 20 overall wins were both school records, accumulated on the way to the Red’s first Ivy League championship and NCAA tournament berth.

Bigger, better Benson: Junior co-captain and starting point guard Lauren Benson (23) will help lead the Red’s offense this year following a sophomore year that included a new school season assists record.

The title run will culminate tonight with the raising of the championship banner prior to the men’s basketball game, just two days before the women begin their title defense against Duquesne.

Track and basketball star Jeomi Maduka, one of the most accomplished athletes at Cornell, has decided to leave the women’s basketball team to pursue an NCAA track championship.

Maduka has been piling up accolades since arriving on East Hill. In track, she is a 13-time champion at Heps. At the NCAA track championships, she has finished in the top-10 twice. In basketball, Maduka easily won last year’s Ivy League Player of the Year and was named an honorable mention All-American.

And this was all while splitting her time between the two sports. It wasn’t unusual for Maduka to play Friday night with the basketball team, then drive or fly to a different location the next day to compete with the track team.

Madness? THIS IS SPARTA … I mean ITHACA!

I am not even kidding: if there has ever been a time to show your school spirit and attend a Cornell sports event, this is it. Cornell sports are absolutely amazing this Friday through Sunday.

You have a chance to see three teams with projected NCAA entrants: that’s three teams with some of our nation’s best athletes, right here, at Cornell!

THIS IS BLASPHEMY!

Cornell sports … advancing on a national level?

After the first game of Ivy League play, the women’s basketball team is the proud owner of a 9-5 record, representing a complete turnaround from where the team stood at this point last season. Only a year ago, the Red was 5-9 and still reeling from a seven-game losing streak during non-conference play.

This year’s squad, ranked second in the Ivy League pre-season media poll, is expected to finish with a better record than last year’s team, which finished the season 12-15. According to head coach Dayna Smith, the difference between last year’s squad and this year’s can be summed up in one word.

While most Cornellians used the winter break to catch up on sleep, catch up with old friends and catch Drew Carry on “The Price is Right,” the women’s basketball team was busy finishing up its non-conference schedule in historic fashion.

Cornell’s 75-60 victory over NJIT to finish out-of-league play was head coach Dayna Smith’s 50th win with the Red and the 300th win in the program’s history. The win also brought the Red to 8-5, its best non-conference finish since the team went 8-4 through the 1999-00 non-conference schedule.