NEW YORK, N.Y. - After being down five points at the half, the Lions came back to defeat St. Francis (N.Y.) 61-55 to even up their record to 2-2. St. Francis fell to 0-5.
With the score 34-29 in the Terriers favor at the beginning of the second half, the Lions came out of the locker room on fire, going on an 11-0 scoring run to take back the lead and help give them the victory. At 16:36, sophomore guard Michele Gage hit a jumper to tie the game at 34 and a three-pointer from junior guard Megan Griffith a minute later gave Columbia the lead once and for all.
St. Francis scored their first basket of the half at 13:46 but a layup from Gage and another three-pointer from Griffith quickly brought Columbia's lead back to nine points (45-36). The Lions took their biggest lead of the game, 12 points, on a basket by junior forward Becky Houge with 10:11 left in the game. This was enough of a cushion for the Columbia defense to take the win, 61-55. In the second half, the Lions held the Terriers to 21 points and out rebounded St. Francis 28-22. The Terriers were 0-11 from behind the arc and shot 24.1 percent from the floor, as compared to 44.1 percent in the first half.
Griffith led the game in scoring with 16 points and Gage and sophomore forward Brittney Carfora each chipped in 14 points and both had double-doubles with 11 and 10 rebounds, respectfully. For St. Francis, Ashley Spriggs and Tiffany Hill both had 14 points.
In the first half the game started out close, but the Lions pulled out to a 10-point lead (21-11) with 10:55 to go. The Terriers, however, chipped away at the lead, going on an 8-0 run to get within two points (21-19). A basket by junior guard Shasta Henderson put the Lions up 23-19, but St. Francis was able to get the game within one point on a layup by Deanna Petrucci. Columbia held on to the small lead, but the Terriers' Kristen Miah put them on top 28-27 with a layup with 3:35 left to go. St. Francis was able to build onto the lead before the buzzer, sending Columbia to the locker room down 29-34.
The Lions travel to Berkeley, Calif. to participate in the Cal Contra Costa Times Classic. Columbia faces the hosting Golden Bears on Saturday, December 3rd at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard time.
