FAIRFIELD, CONN. - Scoring 18 unanswered points over 5:43 minutes in the second half, Sacred Heart defeated Columbia 96-65 in the William H. Pitt Center. Sophomore guard Michele Gage led the Lions with 15 points.

Sacred Heart got onto the board first and led the Lions 11-6 behind six early points from Jasmine Walker. After a media timeout, the Pioneers went ahead by four more points (15-6) with four made free throws. A three by first-year guard Katrina Cragg cut the lead to six points (15-9) but the Pioneers showed no signs of slowing down, quickly going up by nine (22-13) with 11:33 to go in the half.

Sacred Heart took a 10-point lead (47-37) into the locker room but not after Columbia tried to cut unto the lead. With the score 40-26 in favor of the Pioneers, sophomore forward Brittney Carfora came off the bench to score six quick points, but Sacred Heart didn't panic and hustled down the court to score six points to match Carfora's.

Michele Gage led the Lions at the half with 13 points and six rebounds while the Pioneers' Amanda Pape led all players with 16 points and Walker led with 10 rebounds.

The Lions matched Sacred Heart basket-for-basket until 14:56 in the second half when the Pioneers went on a 19-point scoring run to take a commanding 75-48 lead. Columbia could not recover from the deficit, losing 96-65.

Gage led the Lions with 15 points and junior guard Megan Griffith ended the game with 14 points. For the Pioneers, Pape finished with 25 points and Kerri Burke scored 20. Walker finished with a game-high 12 rebounds for Sacred Heart.

The Lions start their Ivy season this weekend, facing Princeton and Penn at home. Columbia will play the Tigers on Friday, January 13th at 7 p.m. and the Quakers on Saturday, January 14th, also at 7 p.m.