Columbia
DELAWARE
Bench Lifts Women's Basketball to 75-63 Victory Over Delaware
12/2/2009 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK -- Sophomore Mary Beato scored a career-high 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers as the Columbia University women's basketball team received a 25-point contribution from its bench and delivered a 75-63 victory over Delaware on Wednesday evening at Levien Gymnasium.
Sophomore guard Melissa Shafer added eight points off the bench, including a pair from long range, and teamed with Beato to outscore the Blue Hens' reserves 25-11. With the victory, the Lions avenged a 62-48 defeat last season and improve to 4-3 this year. Junior Kathleen Barry tallied a team-high 18 points and junior Judie Lomax recorded her sixth double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end.
With the Lions leading by a 10-7 margin early in the first half, Shafer doubled the lead with a three-ball from the corner off a feed from senior Sara Yee. A layup by the Raleigh, N.C., native would give Columbia a 17-11 advantage before the Blue Hens would make a charge. An 8-0 run, capped by a three from Tesia Harris, briefly gave Delaware a 19-17 lead. But the next trip down the floor, Shafer stemmed the tide with a long-range bomb of her own to regain a slim one-point cushion.
The trifecta sparked a 11-2 run that was finished off by five straight points from Beato, and pushed the Lions ahead 28-21 with 4:17 left. Back-to-back threes from Beato and Barry would further Columbia's lead to 39-27, and the Lions would cruise into halftime ahead, 41-30. Harris single-handedly kept the Blue Hens from being down by much more, closing out the half with 18 points. Barry led the Columbia offense with 11 points, while Beato had 10 in the period.
In the second half, Delaware came out aggressively and a three-point play from Harris would cut the Lions lead to 43-37 with 17:27 left. The lead would remain at four before Columbia put together a 19-3 spurt over the next seven minutes to move comfortably ahead by 20. Lomax had six points and seven rebounds in the run, while Yee and Beato hit consecutive threes to cap the rally.
After scoring 18 points in the first half, Delaware's Harris was limited to six points on 2-for-8 shooting after the break. Limiting Harris' offensive exploits in the second half was the defense of senior Danielle Browne, who also played the role of playmaker on the offensive end. Browne closed the contest with a game-high seven assists, including a pair of nice passes to Barry down the stretch that broke the Blue Hens' press.
Columbia will have a quick one-day layoff before returning to the court on Friday, Dec. 4 for a home tilt against St. John's at 12:30 p.m. The game will be highlighted by the presence of students from 13 different New York City Public Schools, through a partnership with the Columbia Athletics Department.
Lion Lines
- Columbia and Delaware both fought through foul trouble, as the teams combined for 53 fouls and 63 free-throw attempts. The Lions converted on 25-of-33 free throws (75.8 percent), while the Blue Hens struggled to a 17-for-30 showing (56.7 percent).
- In addition to her 18 points, Barry closed with six rebounds and three steals.
- The Lions had more offensive rebounds (21) than defensive boards (19) and outrebounded their opponent, 40-31. Last season, Delaware won the battle, 55-50.
- Yee was the fourth Lion in double-figures with 10 points in 35 minutes.
