Princeton
62
52
Columbia
| Score by Quarter |
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
| Princeton |
16 |
22 |
11 |
13 |
62 |
Columbia
|
8 |
8 |
18 |
18 |
52 |
| Stat Comparison |
| Category |
Princeton |
Columbia
|
| FGM-A |
23-59 |
18-60 |
| FG% |
39.0% |
30.0% |
| 3FGM-A |
5-13 |
6-22 |
| 3FG% |
38.5% |
27.3% |
| FTM-A |
11-16 |
10-13 |
| FT% |
68.8% |
76.9% |
| Rebounds |
42 |
39 |
| Assists |
10 |
13 |
| Turnovers |
15 |
15 |
| Blocks |
7 |
3 |
| Steals |
11 |
7 |
NEW YORK — The Columbia women's basketball team rallied from 28 points down to put Princeton on the ropes in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up short, 62-52, Saturday night in Ivy League action at Levien Gymnasium.
Princeton (11-9, 5-2 Ivy) scored the first 15 points of the second quarter and ended a 20-2 run ahead 38-10 with 3:36 to go before halftime. Columbia (12-9, 2-6 Ivy) brought the deficit to 22 before the intermission with five points from junior Camille Zimmerman and a 3-pointer off the hands of sophomore Emily Surloff.
After methodically inching the deficit to 15 by the start of the fourth quarter, Zimmerman and sophomore Abby Lee connected from long range to slice the margin to 11, 56-45, with 2:35 still remaining. Zimmerman, who scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, scored seven straight Columbia points in the final minutes. After being fouled on a 3-point attempt, she converted all three at the charity stripe to make it a two-possession game, 58-52, with 21 seconds to go.
Columbia was forced to foul and simply ran out of time to complete the comeback. Princeton knocked down its final four free throws to escape with the win.
“We started slow and let Princeton dictate pace and tempo,” said head coach Megan Griffith '07CC, who spent the last six seasons on Princeton's bench, including the last four as an assistant coach. “It was very similar to what happened last night [against Penn], except yesterday we started solid took a big dip toward the end of the first and second quarters. Today, we were pretty off right from the get-go.”
Columbia outscored Princeton 36-24 in the second half, held the Tigers to 7 of 24 shooting (29.1 percent) and outrebounded them 20-16. The Lions hit five of their six 3-pointers in the second half and shot 60 percent in the third quarter to get back in the game.
“The fact that we can battle back and the fight in us is positive to see,” Griffith added. “However, by the time we saved our punch, it was just too late. It makes it really hard and we'll work on that.”
Zimmerman hit 8 of 18 from the field, including a pair of triples and 6 of 7 at the foul line, to earn her Ivy League-leading 16th 20-point game of the season. The junior from Tempe, Arizona, added six boards, a game-high four steals and two blocks. Senior Tori Oliver picked up a game-high seven assists and senior Devon Roeper led all Lions with seven rebounds.
For Princeton, Leslie Robinson scored a team-high 14 points to lead four in double figures. Reigning Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week Bella Alarie scored 11 and added a game-high four rejections.
The Lions continue their four-game homestand next weekend when Harvard and Dartmouth visit the Big Apple. Columbia welcomes Harvard on Friday for a 7 p.m. tip, followed by Dartmouth on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Postgame Notes:
- Camille Zimmerman upped her season's scoring total to 466 points, which ranks fourth in program history. She is 55 points behind Columbia's Div. I record of 521 held by Judie Lomax (2009-10).
- Zimmerman extended her double-figure scoring streak to 21 games.
- Tori Oliver tied her career-high with seven assists.
- First-year Maya Sampleton scored a season-high four points.
- Columbia shot a season-low 30 percent from the field (18-60)
