Ivy reunion in Ithaca

When Penn travels to Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday night, a familiar face will patrol the opposite sideline.

Cornell women’s basketball coach and former Penn assistant coach Dayna Smith will shout instructions to clamp down on Alyssa Baron and try to stymie Penn in transition — something she’s all too familiar with.

Smith was recruited by Kelly Greenberg out of high school to play at the University of Rhode Island. Although Greenberg would leave the program for Holy Cross before ever coaching the star guard, Smith transformed the URI program and led the Rams to their first-ever Atlantic-10 crown and an NCAA tournament appearance in 1996.

After graduation, the Pittsburgh native stayed on as an assistant coach at URI. But when Greenberg — who had moved on to Penn — offered a position to coach in the Ancient Eight, Smith jumped at the chance.

“We go way back,” Greenberg said. “When I was close to getting the job, the first person I wanted to hire was Joe McGeever, who was my high school coach. Once I got someone I knew for a long time, I wanted to get a younger person with a lot of experience. The two together were a wonderful combination.”

As assistant coaches, McGeever and Smith propelled Penn women’s basketball toward its finest hour in the Ivy League in 2000-01. That Quakers squad­ — which included all-time leading scorer Diana Caramanico ­— rolled off 21 straight victories en route to a 14-0 Ivy league record and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Smith’s impact on the Penn community even extended off the court, where she helped create the Penn Pals program, a kids club for the Penn Athletic Department to teach about the importance of sports. The program also offers the opportunity for athletes to meet with and act as role models to some of their younger fans.

“We just wanted to bring more awareness to the program,” Smith said. “We were looking for areas where we could have people up in the stands and having kids club was easy, and the athletic department supported that.”

Smith left Penn to take over the head coaching position at Cornell in the summer of 2002. In her second season, the Big Red tied for last in the Ivy.

But with a pedigree of success at Penn, Smith didn’t abandon her roots. Greenberg had instilled in her a strong work ethic and showed her the importance of holding players individually accountable.

“The way [Greenberg] had the players proud to wear a Penn uniform — it was something that you live,” Smith said. “After a couple years we were able to instill that.”

Smith’s presence turned around a struggling Big Red (5-19, 2-8 Ivy) program, which won the Ivy League title in 2007-08.

“They went from where we were — from the bottom — to the top,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “Dayna does a good job and her kids play hard for her.”

The Quakers (10-13, 4-5), who will look to run at every chance, must be careful. From first to worst to first again, Smith knows how to play the transition game.

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