Emily Garner, entering her second year as the Rebecca Quinn Morgan ’60 Head Coach of Cornell Women’s Basketball, is focusing on developing a program culture that emphasizes toughness and attention to detail. As the team prepares for the upcoming Ivy League season, Garner said, “We’re focused on building a program, not just a team, and that takes time. The returners really have an idea of what it takes to be in that top-4 mentality. Our players are committed to the process and understand the commitment it takes day in and day out. We want to be known as the tough, gritty team with a chip on our shoulder, and we’re taking it one step at a time.”
The Big Red will rely on returning players including Emily Pape, Rachel Kaus, Clarke Jackson, Paige Engels, Azareya Kilgoe, Kelsey Langston, Vivienne Knee, Audrey Chen, and Alana Andrews. Senior forward Emily Pape led returning players last season with 10.6 points per game while starting all 26 games.
Rachel Kaus contributed 9.6 points per game and shot 48.2 percent from the field last season. Clarke Jackson provided stability by logging the most minutes on the team (857:57) and averaging 7.1 points per game.
Point guard Paige Engels averaged 6.6 points per contest and led the team with 66 assists during her freshman campaign while shooting 34.7 percent from three-point range.
The incoming freshman class includes Trinity Jones, Ashley Childers, Grace Renners, Willa Chinn, and Ally Pape. Among them is Willa Chinn—Washington State’s 3A Player of the Year—who scored over 1,000 career points in high school. Grace Renners was named First Team All-State after recording more than 1,400 career points and nearly 800 rebounds. Ashley Childers adds height to the frontcourt as a two-time League MVP; Trinity Jones brings championship experience from Arizona; Ally Pape joins her sister Emily after scoring over 1,000 points in Illinois high school play.
In this year’s Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, Cornell was picked to finish seventh in the conference standings.
Garner described Ivy League competition by saying: “It’s a beast of a league,” adding that “It’s really one of the best leagues in the country.”
Cornell begins its season with four consecutive road games against Bryant (Nov. 7), Pitt (Nov. 11), Mercyhurst (Nov. 14), and Canisius (Nov. 16). The team’s home opener at Newman Arena will be against Colgate on Nov. 18.
Other non-conference opponents include Le Moyne (Nov. 30), Lehigh (Dec. 3), Quinnipiac (Dec. 6), Army (Dec. 9), Stanford (Dec. 28), and SUNY-Delhi (Jan.13). The Big Red open their Ivy League schedule at Columbia on Jan.3.
