The women’s basketball team closed out the semester in a commanding fashion last night, defeating the Colgate Raiders, 74-64. This gives the Red a 4-3 record, its best start to a season since 2001-02.

The Red relied on its three senior captains to deliver some valuable points: Allie Fedorowicz was the high scorer with 22 points, and Lauren Benson and Virginia McMunigal contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively. In addition, freshman Whitney Hagan was a key player for the Red, ending with a total six points and seven rebounds.

“Whitney had some good minutes…she was alert on the defensive side, and she hit some big baskets,” said head coach Dayna Smith.

The Red initially held a large lead over the Raiders, but as halftime drew near, Colgate began to close the gap, and the teams went into halftime tied at 31. In the second half, however, Cornell began to pull away, thanks to a three-point shooting percentage of 55.6, and field-goal shooting of 53.8. Colgate could not regain the lead, and the Red is now able to enter the study break on a high note.

“We’re really happy [about the win],” Smith said. “To go 17 days off of a loss is tough. It’s great that we’re really just going to feel good about ourselves.”

That positive energy could definitely come in handy. For when the stress of finals comes to a close, most Cornell students will be heading home for a nice, relaxing winter break. But the women’s basketball team has a slightly different agenda for the holidays. A tough non-conference schedule —plus the first Ivy League matchup — will be keeping the players busy all throughout the months of December and January.

After the short hiatus for exams, the Red will be back in action on Dec. 19, traveling to Manhattan College to take on the Jaspers. Two days later, Cornell will play host to the University of Miami, a team that remains undefeated this season. On the 28th and 29th, the Red will be on the road again, this time in Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia Holiday Tournament. There, Cornell is scheduled to play the Liberty Flames — and depending on the outcome, the Red may have to face the daunting No. 14 Virginia Cavaliers. Finally, to round out the non-conference season, the Red will play Binghamton on Jan. 4 and Bucknell on Jan. 6.

This winter break schedule is certainly not going to be an easy one. But, according Smith, the challenge will be welcomed as an opportunity for the team to improve.

“We hope to be prepared for the Ivy League, and that’s what this non-conference season is for,” she said. “We want to go in there as a solid team and represent ourselves well.”

Senior captain Virginia McMunigal agreed that the winter break games are especially important to the team.

“I think break is a great time that we have to practice and work on individual skills,” she said. “We do a good job as a team of staying focused.”

In between games, the team will be fine-tuning its strategies and concentrating on improvement in several areas.

“Our post game has to improve,” Smith said. “Defensively, we’ve been giving up quite a few points, and offensively we need more balance and consistency.”

The Red hopes that the non-conference games well help work out some of these kinks before the real challenge — the first Ivy League game against Columbia on Jan. 16. The Lions (4-3, 0-0 Ivy League) are off to a strong start this season, and they have a solid lineup that will certainly prove to be a challenge for Cornell. But the Red, for now, is simply going to focus on the present.

“It’s a while away,” McMunigal said. “We’re going to play against some strong opponents, so we should be prepared.”