NEW YORK, N.Y. - Junior guard Megan Griffith hit five three-pointers and went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe to help the Lions defeat Central Connecticut State 54-51. Columbia is now 3-4 on the season and the Blue Devils dropped to 2-5.
The Lions took the lead with the first basket of the game and never looked back, holding off CCSU's attempts to make the lead its own. Griffith hit her first three of the game with 17:56 left in the first half to give Columbia a 3-0 lead. After trading baskets, the Blue Devils tied the score at five, but the Lions responded, going on a six-point run to take the lead 12-5. Columbia took the biggest lead of the half, 10 points, on two made free throws from Griffith and held the point differential until the end, sending the Lions to the locker room ahead 27-17.
Griffith led all players at the half with 12 points, going 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 3-for-4 from the line. Sophomore forward Brittney Carfora led the team with six rebounds. For Central Connecticut State, Gabriella Guegbelet led with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Blue Devils tried to cut into the Lions lead at the beginning of the second half, but to no avail. CCSU brought the lead down to seven points (29-22), but two free throws from Carfora and a layup by Michele Gage gave Columbia an 11-point advantage (33-22). With 11:04 left in the game, the Blue Devils were able to cut the lead to three (38-35) on a three-pointer by Brittney Dixon, but Griffith took the ball down the court and hit a three of her own to bring the score back to 41-35.
CCSU got within two points with 8:31 left on a basket by Kim Boone and the two teams traded baskets for the next two possessions, making the score 54-43. The Lions then scored six unanswered points with help from a basket from Carfora, two free throws from Griffith and a basket in the paint from senior Sarah Beato to take an eight point lead with 3:35 left in the game. Two free throws from Dixon with under a minute left to play cut the Lions lead to five. After a made free throw from Griffith, Guegbelet made a layup to cut the lead to four points (52-48). The Blue Devils were forced to foul and Griffith hit both free throws (54-48). With five seconds left in the game, Boone hit a long three to make the final score 54-51.
Griffith finished the game with 23 points, matching her career-high. Carfora finished with her second double-double of the season the 10 points and 10 rebounds. First-year Katrina Cragg also scored in double digits with 11 points. Guegbelet finished with 22 points and 18 rebounds for CCSU.
The Lions travel to Brooklyn, N.Y. to face city rival LIU on Saturday, December 10th. Game time is 2 p.m.
