Women's Basketball Heads West to Tip-Off 2014-15 Season at San Francisco
11/13/2014 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| Game Info Date Tip-Off Venue Video Stats Tickets Series Record Last Meeting Streak Notes |
at San Francisco (0-0, 0-0 WCC) Friday, Nov. 14 10 p.m. War Memorial Gym (4,268) TheW.TV Live Stats Tickets Columbia trails, 0-4 Nov. 10, 2013 (L, 83-69) L4 Columbia Notes |
NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team tips-off its 31st season with a trip to the west coast to take on San Francisco Friday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m. at the War Memorial Gym.
How To Watch
Fans that could not make the trip to the west coach can follow the Lions action live free of charge via TheW.tv here.
Ivy League Digital Network
Each of Columbia's 16 home matches and all the Lions Ivy League contests will be web streamed in HD quality featuring a live scoreboard and graphics through the Ivy League Digital Network. Fans who subscribe to the network can watch the Lions live or on-demand at Levien Gymnasium at their convenience. SideLion pass holders will also have access to all Columbia athletics events throughout the duration of their subscription. Fans can purchase their subscription at www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com.
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Lowdown on the Lions
Columbia raises the curtain on its second year in the Stephanie Glance era with a well-crafted balance of veteran leadership and youthful enthusiasm, returning three starters and welcoming six newcomers.
The Lions will look to improve upon its 6-22 overall record and 3-11 ledger in the Ivy League action from a year ago and strive to capture their first winning season since 2009-10 (18-10, 9-5 Ivy).
Let's Get it Started
Columbia is 1-0 in season openers under the direction of Stephanie Glance, who joined Traci Walters as the only two coaches to win their first game as the floor general of the Lions, with a 62-59 victory over LIU Brooklyn last season. The win marked the first on opening night for Columbia since 2009-10 when it downed Sacred Heart, 79-55. All-time, the Lions have gone 13-16 in the first game of the season since the program began in 1984-85.
The Lions have opened up its campaign on the road 13 times and has been in the friendly confines of Levien for the season opener 14 times. The Lions have taken the court at a neutral site for the first game of the year on three occasions.
Back For More
The Lions return nine letterwinners from last year's squad, including three of their top four scorers in sophomore Tori Oliver (10.8 ppg), senior Miwa Tachibana (9.6 ppg), who connected on 47 of 133 attempts (.353) behind the arc, and sophomore Carolyn Binder (7.5 ppg). Oliver joined senior Amara Mbionwu as Columbia's defensive force on the glass, as the six-foot guard grabbed 5.1 rebounds per game while Mbionwu pulled down 5.7 boards per contest.
Also returning for the Lions are sophomores Carolyn Gallagher and Ara Talkov. Gallagher notched a .433 field goal percentage, while Talkov contributed a 66.7 shooting clip from the charity strip.
New Faces in New Places
Columbia has welcomed six new faces to the team for 2014-15, the first recruiting class of the Stephanie Glance era. The Lions members of the Class of 2018 include center Jillian Borreson, guards Riley Burke, Kathleen Ryan and Paige Tippet, and forward Camille Zimmerman.
More Reading: Women's Basketball Announces 2018 Recruiting Class
Down Low on the Don
San Francisco, 12-19 a season ago, were picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Don returns its core from last season including Taylor Porctor and Zhané Dikes, who picked up honorable mention WCC honors a year ago and garnered All-WCC Preseason Honors. Porctor averaged team-leading numbers of 14.0 points per game, shooting .442 and pulled down 7.3 rebounds per game. Dikes on the other hand adds 2.7 assists per contest as the Dons' floor general. Head coach Jennifer Azzi begins her fifth season at the helm of the San Francisco program.
History with San Francisco
Friday marks the fifth meeting between the Lions and Don since the first matchup in 1991. Columbia looks to tally its first mark in the win column versus San Francisco as it trails the all-time series, 0-4.
Last season, the Don upset the Lions home opener with an 83-69 setback Nov. 10, 2013. Columbia received a 13-point effort from Miwa Tachibana, which included two treys, while Courtney Bradford '14CC contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
More Reading: Columbia Drops Home Opener To San Francisco
On the Bench
Head coach Stephanie Glance returns for her second season as the head coach of the Columbia women's basketball team. Along with years of coaching experience, Glance brought her five-time assistant coach Sheila Roux with her to Morningside Heights. This season Roux will be serving in a new role as associate head coach. Joining Glance's staff for their first seasons are assistant coach Ollin Dunford and former Lion backcourt standout Taylor Ward '13BC, who will serve as a volunteer assistant coach.
Leaders of the Lions
A quartet has been elected to lead the Lions this season as seniors Campbell Mobley and Miwa Tachibana, junior Sara Mead and sophomore Tori Oliver share the leadership responsibilities.
| Preseason Promise | ||
| Rank 1. 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6. 8. |
School (FPV) Princeton (9) Penn (7) Harvard (1) Yale Cornell Columbia Dartmouth Brown |
Points 123 123 106 90 61 38 38 33 |
More Reading: Columbia Tabbed Sixth in Ivy League Women's Basketball Poll
From Downtown
Miwa Tachibana was among the Ancient Eight leaders in 3-point percentage last season. The sharpshooter finished the year ranked ninth amongst the Ivies with a 35.3 connection rate, hitting 47 shots from deep.
There's No Place Like Home
Stephanie Glance and the Lions will have a chance to improve on their 149-209 (.416) home record early this season. Columbia plays nine of its 14 non-conference games at home this year, only leaving Levien to visit out of league foes on five occasions including a two-game trip to California.
That's a First
For the first time in program history Columbia will tip-off against fresh competition this season. The Lions host Rhode Island (Nov. 24), Bradley (Nov. 26) and UMass Lowell (Dec. 3) for the team's inaugural contests against the Rams, the Braaves and the Riverhawaks.
Matches Milestones
The 2014-15 season will be historical for the Lions as Columbia will take the court for the 800th time overall when it hosts Kennesaw State Saturday, Nov. 29 and play in its 400th Ivy League contest Saturday, Feb. 7 at Penn.
Unbeaten
Since women's basketball began at Columbia in 1984-85, the Lions have taken the hardwood against 144 opponents. Columbia has not dropped a game to 33 of its all-time competition to hold an unbeaten record against .215 percent of its all-time foes. This season the Lions will attempt to remain unbeaten against Kennesaw State and NJIT.
Double Dip
Columbia's game against Kennesaw State on Nov. 29 and versus Cornell Jan. 17 and 24 will be part of a doubleheader, as the Lions' men's team will face American and the Big Red, respectively.
Geography 101
The 17 players comprising the Lions' 2014-15 roster hail from 10 different states: California (3), Arizona (2), New Jersey (2), New York (2), Texas (2), Virginia (2), Florida (1), Maryland (1) and Massachusetts (1).
Glance Era
Stephanie Glance was named the sixth head coach in Columbia women's basketball history on April 1, 2013. Glances came to Columbia with over 25 years of collegiate coaching experience and most recently was the head coach at Illinois State where she led the Red Birds to three consecutive NIT appearances.
Hardwood Classics
During the off-season, Columbia Athletics began construction on a brand new gymnasium floor inside Levien Gymnasium. Officially completed on in August, the Lions women's basketball team will have their first crack on the new hardwood on Wednesday, Nov. 19 when it entertains Lafayette at 7 p.m.
#Chillin4Charity
This summer, the Columbia women's basketball coaching staff was called out by their colleagues from across the country to complete the cold water challenge as part of the #Chillin4Charity fundraiser to support the Kay Yow Foundation.
On The Air – Lance Medow - @LanceMedow
Lance Medow performs a variety of on-air work for several sports and media organizations, including WFAN, Siriux XM and the New York Giants. He anchors updates and hosts various shows on Siriux XM/s numerous sports channels, ranging from Mad Dog Radio to NFL Radio. During the football season, Medow host the pre, halftime and post game shows of Giants games for WFAN. He also covers the Olympics and serves as a studio host for Westwood One Dial Global Radio Network.
Coming Up
The Lions remain in The Golden State for a Sunday showdown at San Jose State. The Lions and the Spartans are set to take the court at the Event Center at 6:30 p.m.
