Women's Basketball Opens Cornell Doubleheader Saturday
1/19/2017 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team (10-4, 0-1 Ivy) completes its season series with Cornell (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) on Saturday, when the Lions welcome the Big Red to Levien Gymnasium at 4:30 p.m. The game is part of a Columbia basketball doubleheader, presented by New York-Presbyterian, with the men's team scheduled to tip against Cornell at 7 p.m.
GAMEDAY MEDIA
• The game will air on both ESPN3 and the Ivy League Digital Network. Columbia's radio feed will be available on the Ivy League Digital Network. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com.
ANNUAL FACULTY & STAFF FESTIVAL
• Columbia Athletics will host the annual Faculty and Staff Festival, a FREE event for Columbia faculty, staff, and their families! The festival will take place in the University (Blue) Gym (2nd floor, Dodge Fitness Center) from 3:00 – 4:15 p.m., prior to the Columbia vs. Cornell basketball doubleheader, sponsored by New York-Presbyterian. Click here for more information.
NEWS/NOTES
OPENING TIPS
• The Lions will look to avenge last Saturday's, 77-70, loss at Cornell. Columbia went into halftime down by 10 points, but came back to take the lead, 66-65, with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Cornell outscored Columbia 12-4 the rest of the way and netted the final six points of the contest.
• Columbia hopes to snap Cornell's six-game winning streak in the series. The Big Red have swept the season series each of the past two years, including a 66-59 victory the last time the two teams met in New York. In that game, Columbia took a 35-28 lead into halftime and remained in front heading to the fourth quarter, but was outscored 24-14 in the final period.
• Columbia's 10-3 record in non-conference play marked its highest non-conference winning percentage (.769) in program history. Along the way, the Lions won seven straight, recording their longest winning streak since the 1986-87 season. Last year, Columbia went 11-4 (.733) out of conference, but finished 1-13 in the Ivy League.
• Camille Zimmerman leads Columbia in scoring (20.7), rebounding (9.6), steals (1.1) and blocks (1.0) on a per-game basis. The junior is also second on the team in assists (2.7), behind starting point guard Paulina Koerner (2.9). Zimmerman is atop the Ivy League in scoring, as well as double-doubles (8), field goals made (119), field goal attempts (246), total rebounds (135) and field goal percentage (.484, min. 5 makes per game). She has been named Ivy League Player of the Week four times.
SCOUTING CORNELL
• The Big Red (10-4, 1-0 Ivy) have won three straight and five of their last six heading into Saturday's matchup. The lone hiccup among their last six was a double-overtime loss at Stony Brook, 66-65, on December 30. Cornell and Columbia had four common opponents on their non-conference schedules and had identical results, earning victories over Colgate, Saint Francis and Binghamton, while falling to Stony Brook.
• Cornell averages 64.4 points and allows just 59.5 points per game, ranking among the top 70 in the NCAA in scoring defense. The Big Red excel in 3-point shooting at 39.4 percent, which is tops in the Ivy League and No. 8 nationally. They shot 60 percent (6-10) from deep in last Saturday's win over the Lions. Cornell also leads the Ivy League in steals per game (8.7) and ranks second in 3-point defense (28.7 pct.).
• Nia Marshall is the player to watch for the Big Red. The senior is second in program history in scoring (1,486 points) and averages a team-best 15.4 points per game on the season. Marhsall is also Cornell's leader in rebounds at 6.9 per contest, as well as total blocks (12) and steals (31), and has been named Ivy League Player of the Week twice this season. Fellow senior Megan LeDuc also averages double figures scoring at 11.4 points, while another senior, Kerri Moran, comes in at 10.1 per game.
POSTGAME NOTES AT CORNELL (Jan. 14)
• Camille Zimmerman posted her 10th 20-point game and eighth double-double of the season, both of which lead the Ivy League.
• Camille Zimmerman passed Ellen Bossert (1984-86) for sixth on Columbia's all-time scoring list. She now has 1,090 career points.
• Tori Oliver recorded her second 10-plus rebound game of the season.
• Devon Roeper grabbed a season-high eight rebounds.
• Paulina Koerner tied her career-high of six rebounds.
• Paige Tippet tied her season-high of eight points and played a season-high 27 minutes.
• Emily Surloff earned her first start of the season.
• The Lions fell to 9-22 all-time in Ivy league openers, and 24-38 all-time vs. Cornell.
RECORD START
• Columbia (10-4) is tied for its best 14-game start in the program's Div. I era with last year's team that also started 10-4. Columbia secured the best 10-game start in program history on December 12 when they defeated LIU Brooklyn to move to 8-2 for the first time ever. Along the way, Columbia won seven straight games, tying for the longest winning streak of the Div. I era with the 1986-87 team. The program's all-time longest winning streak is eight, accomplished in the 1985-86 season.
HISTORIC DUO
• Senior Tori Oliver and junior Camille Zimmerman have each totaled 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their careers, marking the first time in the program's Div. I era that two teammates actively played together with those accolades. It is also the first time since the 1990-91 season that Columbia had two 1,000-point scorers on the floor together -- the last duo was Kathy Gilbert (1,309 points) and Jennifer Beubis (1,039 points), who played together from 1987-91. Oliver enters the game fourth in program history in scoring (1,222 points) and top 10 in rebounds (567). Zimmerman ranks sixth all-time in scoring (1,090 points), breaking the 1,000-point plateau against LIU Brooklyn (Dec. 12), as well as 12th in rebounds (520). They join Ula Lysniak (1983-87), Kathy Gilbert (1987-91), Shawnee Pickney (1997-01), Ellen Bossert (1984-86) and Lauren Dwyer (2007-11) in the program's 1,000-500 club.
#PATHTOTHEPALESTRA
• The Ivy League will conduct postseason tournaments for both men's and women's basketball at The Palestra in Philadelphia on March 11-12, 2017. The four-team tournaments will determine the conference's automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championships, and all six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks.
#IVYMADNESS
• The inaugural Ivy League men's and women's basketball tournaments will take place Saturday & Sunday, March 11-12, 2017, at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The top four teams will earn berths to the tournament, with the semifinals on Saturday and the championships on Sunday. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For more information, visit www.IvyMadness.com.
UP NEXT…
• The Lions hit the road for four straight, beginning with their first back-to-back of the Ivy League season at Dartmouth and Harvard. The Big Green are up first on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Harvard on Saturday at 6 p.m.
