NEW HAVEN, CONN. - With the score tied at 57 and 5.6 second left on the clock, junior guard Shasta Henderson hit a jumper to beat Yale, 59-57. In a game that saw nine lead changes and the score tied eight times, the Lions prevailed, winning their second Ivy game of the season.
The two teams traded baskets to start the game with sophomore forward Brittney Carfora hitting a jumper and a three to bring the score to 5-5. Yale went up by four (9-5 with two consecutive baskets but junior forward Becky Hogue scored the next four points for the Lions to bring them back within two (11-9). The Bulldogs quickly gained a 16-11 advantage, but two consecutive threes from junior guard Brooke Carey gave the Lions a 17-16 lead.
Yale tied the score at 18 and Kaitlyn Lillemoe scored the next four Bulldog points to give Yale a 22-18 lead until junior guard Megan Griffith hit a jumper to cut the lead to two. Griffith scored the next four Columbia points, all free throws, to cut the Yale lead to 24-23. After a made Bulldog free throw, Griffith drove for a layup and sophomore guard Michele Gage hit a jumper to give the Lions a 27-25 lead.
Yale's Erica Davis, however, went on a seven point scoring run to give the Bulldogs the lead again (32-28) with 1:19 left in the half. Yale was able to increase its lead by one point before the end of the half, sending the two teams to the locker rooms with the score 34-29.
At the end of the first half, Griffith led the Lions with 11 points and sophomore forward Cate Taylor had four rebounds. For Yale, Chinenye Okafor and Davis had eight points each and Sara McCollum had 10 rebounds.
At the start of the second half, the two teams traded baskets and the Lions closed the gap to 36-35 with baskets from Griffith and Carfora. The Bulldogs gained a three point lead (41-38) with help from a three from Jamie Van Horne but Carey cut the lead to one, making her two free throws after getting fouled in the lane.
The Lions took the lead on a basket by Carfora and with two free throws from Houge and a layup from Griffith, Columbia had a 47-43 lead with 7:39 left in the game. The Bulldogs took back the lead with a three from Van Horne (48-47) and the two teams traded baskets for the next two possessions (52-51). Yale took a three point lead on a basket by McCollum, but Gage hit a three with 2:57 on the clock to tie the game at 54.
Davis scored the next three points for Yale, but with 53.8 seconds left, Griffith drove into the lane for the basket and the foul. After making her free throw to tie the game at 57, Griffith stole the ball from Yale as they brought it down the court and quickly brought the ball to the Lions' side and called a timeout with 28.1 seconds left in the game. Columbia came back out onto the court and with 5.6 seconds left, Henderson hit a mid-range jumper to win the game.
Griffith finished the game with 19 points, seven assists and three steals. Carfora, Hogue and senior center Sarah Beato all had seven rebounds for the Lions. For the Bulldogs, Davis finished with 17 points and Okafor had 12. McCollum finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Lions take on Dartmouth and Harvard in their final weekend of play at home. Columbia faces the Big Green on Friday, March 3rd and the Crimson on Saturday, March 4th. Both games are at 7 p.m. Prior to tip off vs. Harvard, Columbia will hold a short ceremony honor the team's only senior, Sarah Beato.
