Over the next few weeks, GoColumbiaLions.com will take a look at the teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff members set to be inducted in the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October. Our next installment features a former women's basketball standout whose legacy far outlives her time spent on the basketball court.
Judie Lomax '10BC
Judie Lomax was a two-time NCAA Division I rebounding champion and the first Columbia women's basketball player to be named Ivy League Player of the Year. She was instrumental to the Lions' unit that set a school record with 18 wins and finished the 2009-10 season third in the Ivy League with a record of 9-5.
Lomax forever holds the title of being the first NCAA Division I women's basketball player to lead the nation in rebounding in consecutive seasons. She averaged 14.3 boards per game as a sophomore in 2008-09 and 14.2 the following year as a junior. On top of being the program's first Ivy League Player of the Year, Lomax's 2009-10 campaign also included six Ivy League Player of the Week selections, as well as being named First Team All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association and an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention. In the final outing of her 56-game Columbia career (March 6, 2010), the legend racked up a program record 27 rebounds to help the Lions defeat Brown, 54-41. It broke the previous record of 23, which she also had set earlier in the season against St. Francis (N.Y.), surpassing then what was a record that had stood for over 20 years. Lomax also set single-season Columbia records in rebounds (401) and steals (72).
Lomax graduated in style and left behind an incredible legacy. In just two seasons in a Lions uniform, the 5-11 forward finished her career ranked second in program history in both rebounds (799) and field-goal percentage (.539). Lomax also totaled 918 points to rank 12th in Columbia's career record books.
In a 2008 interview with The New York Times, former Lions head coach Paul Nixon said of Lomax, “Her impact on this program can be historic.” It most certainly was.
