« Women’s Basketball 2013-14

Allyson DiMagno

School
Cornell
Position
Forward
Major
Biological Sciences
PPG
13.4
RPG
8.4
APG
2.4

Classroom

Allyson is an accomplished and well-rounded student with a 3.77 grade-point average in biological sciences (biochemistry emphasis) with a minor in business. She is currently applying to medical school with the intention to become either a pediatric or orthopedic doctor. 

For the past two summers, she has had internships at Johnson and Johnson, first working as a Research and Development Intern in Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, before working as a Product Support Intern in that same department. During her internships, she researched and identified an appropriate plastic container which ensured antibodies provided consistent performance in experiments when used over multiple days of testing. She also completed new crossover testing on TRIG lipase to determine the enzyme stability through a time study and batch to batch study and helped create a new process for Oxaloacetate Decarboxylase testing to be implemented.

At Cornell, Allyson serves as an academic tutor, helping her fellow student-athletes in classes ranging from general chemistry, statistics, and calculus, to financial accounting. She was an Academic All-Ivy selection in 2012-13. She is a five-time Dean’s List selection and has been chosen to both the Golden Key Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. At Cornell, she is a member of Ho-Nun-De-Kah, the junior and senior honor society of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Allyson is also a recipient of the prestigious New York State Merit Scholarship.

DiMagno has been named to the 2014 CoSida Academic All-District First-Team and will now be on the national ballot for Academic All-American. She is the first-ever three-time honoree in Cornell women’s basketball history.

Character

When injuries plagued the Big Red’s forward corps prior to the 2013-13 season, Allyson was asked by the coaching staff to switch positions and play forward for the first time in her life.  She responded by becoming arguably the best forward in the league and leading the Big Red in both points (14.7) and rebounds (11.5) per games. This season, she was elected captain by her teammates. She is also the women’s basketball team’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, serving as an active communications link between the student-athletes and the athletics administration.

Allyson serves as treasurer for the Quill and Dagger Honor Society, one of the most prominent and legendary collegiate senior honor societies in the United States. Founded in 1893, Quill and Dagger seeks to recognize exemplary undergraduates who have shown leadership, character, and dedication to service. 

Allyson was also selected as a Senior Class Campaign member. This select group of leaders plays an important role during senior year, working closely with the Office of Alumni Affairs staff, trustees, and alumni to promote the importance of philanthropy and active engagement with Cornell and keep students connected to Cornell as they transition to young alumni.

Community

Last summer, Allyson volunteered in the Adolescent Psychiatry Ward at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. She partnered with a team of registered nurses to assist in the overall well-being of the patients. During her time there, she worked with children ages 5 to 18 by engaging in various activities including, playing games, doing craft projects, cooking, playing music and reading. 

Over the years, Allyson has also volunteered at special events, including the Special Olympics, the Make-A-Wish-Make-A-Swish event, and a Be The Match bone marrow drive. She is also involved in numerous volunteer projects each semester as a member of SAAC, and Quill and Dagger.

Allyson has also volunteered for the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen in Ithaca, and has helped organized the basketball team’s Adopt-a-Family initiative each Christmas.

Competition

After playing guard for her entire career, Allyson’s transition to forward was seamless and she earned All-Ivy honors as a junior. She set the school record for rebounds in a single season (321) and despite standing at just 5-11, finished the year ranked 12th in the nation and led the conference in rebounds per game (11.5). Allyson averaged a double-double on the year (14.7 points, 11.5 rebounds) and finished the season with 16 double-doubles. She also led the conference in defensive (7.0) and offensive (4.5) rebounds and ranked third overall in scoring, but was even better against conference foes, ranking second overall in points (15.5) in Ivy League contests. Allyson also had the second best field goal percentage in the conference (.471), while ranking second overall in free throw percentage (.854), second in minutes played (36.0) and fifth in steals per game (1.8). She a set the school record for Ivy League Player of the Week selections in a season (4) and also set the Cornell mark for minutes played in a game (50) during Cornell’s double-overtime victory over Columbia. In that contest, Allyson pulled down a career- and team-season high 22 rebounds, the seventh-best single-game performance in the NCAA during the 2012-13 season. She enters her senior campaign ranked fourth in Big Red history with 695 career rebounds, needing just 236 more to become the school’s all-time leader. She also needs just 60 more points to become the 13th player in Cornell history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.