NEW YORK - The Columbia women's basketball team staged a late-game rally to nearly take the win from Long Beach State in Levien Gymnasium, but the 49ers held the Lions off, taking the victory, 70-61. The game was one of the best offensive efforts of the season, as Columbia shot a season-high 46.8% overall in field goals and 40% from the three-point range.
Columbia was fighting back throughout the entire game, as the Lions never led once. Long Beach State pulled out early in the game, going up 8-1 on a three-pointer from Chantel Dooley. Columbia used a jumper from Tyler Simpson and a layup by Melissa Shafer to close the lead to 8-6, but Long Beach went on a scoring run, widening the gap once again to 14-6, and then to 20-8 with a jumper in the paint by Ella Clark. With just under five minutes left in the half, junior Brittany Simmons helped spark a Columbia run, as her shot made it 29-20, and the Lions continued to fight. A three pointer by Shafer with 2:48 left in the half made it 31-26, and a layup by Agata Jankova had the Lions at 36-28 heading into the break.
Columbia continued to chip away coming out of halftime, as a layup with a foul by Tyler Simpson brought it to 36-31 just 10 seconds into the second half. Courtney Bradford added a layup 40 seconds later, making it 38-33 for Columbia. Long Beach State began to pull away at the 16:10 mark, when Clark drained a three to give the 49ers a 47-37 lead, and a layup by Dooley pushed the lead to 12 for the visiting team. Long Beach held a significant lead for most of the rest of the game, including being up by 13 with eight minutes left in the half. But down by 10 with five minutes remaining, the Lions decided to make a game of it. Two free throws by Simpson cut the lead to eight, 64-56, and a three pointer by Shafer made it 64-59, with just over four minutes left. Columbia seemed to have found the spark, but Long Beach State held on to win it by nine, 70-61. With the loss, the Lions are now 0-5 to start the season, while Long Beach State improves to 2-3.
Senior Melissa Shafer led the Lions with 17 points and four steals shooing 6-for-10 overall, including 5-of-8 from behind the three point line. Junior Tyler Simpson had 15 points in the loss, as she was 5-for-6 from the free throw line with three rebounds. First-year Amara Mbionwu, sophomore Taylor Ward and junior Brittany Simmons all had seven points, while Mbionwu led the Lions on the board with six rebounds.
Up next for the Lions is a matchup with local rival Army, who will come to Levien Gymnasium, Sunday, November 27 for a 1 p.m. matchup.
NOTES
Long Beach State had five players in double figures – Ella Clark (10 pts), Tipesa Moorer (10), Alex Sanchez (11), Jhakia McDonald (11) and Chantel Dooley (10) … the 49ers out-rebounded the Lions, 44-28 overall, including 27 offensive rebounds for Long Beach, compared to 11 defensive rebounds for the Lions … junior Agata Jankova set a new career-high with three points in the loss, while first-years Lizzy Stachon and Amara Mbionwu notched their first collegiate blocks.
