HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Five Lions made their collegiate debuts, led by first-year Sienna Durr's team-high 15 points, and the Columbia women's basketball team held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Hofstra, 65-63, in its season opener Friday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.
 
Columbia (1-0) led by as many as 10 late in the third quarter before Hofstra (1-1) used a 17-4 run to take its first lead of the half, 55-52, with 4:32 remaining. The Lions tied it up two minutes later off three straight points by Durr and played shutdown defense down the stretch, holding the Pride to 1-for-8 shooting and regaining a five-point lead off two Mikayla Markham free throws with 24 seconds remaining.
 
Hofstra's Ana Hernandez Gil banked in a three to make things interesting in the final seconds. Durr was fouled twice and iced away the game by hitting 3-of-4 at the stripe. Petja Krupenko sent in a meaningless three at the buzzer to make the final margin two.
 
"It was really exciting to get out there, jump at the tip and get going," said Durr, the 2018 Iowa Class 4A Player of the Year at Grinnell High School. "I really got into the flow of the game in the second quarter after picking up two fouls in the first. I was happy to be able to make enough free throws at the end to help us win the game."
 
Durr and rookies Mikayla Markham, Madison Hardy, Lilian Kennedy and Sydney Brown all made their Columbia debuts in the victory. Durr shot 4-of-8 from the floor, 7-of-10 from the line, and added five rebounds to her night. Markham ran the point with six assists to just one turnover, six rebounds and eight points. Hardy scored in double figures with 11 off the bench that included shooting 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Kennedy made her presence felt defensively with four blocks and also got in the scoring column. Brown picked up her first two rebounds.
 
"We did a great job in the fourth quarter by getting a big stretch of stops over the last five minutes," said head coach Megan Griffith '07CC. "It was huge to know they can trust each other when you're in hot water. They have each other's backs, which goes a long way."
 
The Lions also got a big game from one of their upperclassmen as Janiya Clemmons shot 6-of-12 to score 13 points. The junior came one rebound away from a double-double and picked up four assists. Her bucket with a minute left put the Lions up three and was part of a crucial 7-0 run.
 
Hofstra's comeback effort was led by a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds from senior Sica Cuzic. Boogie Brozoski also reached double figures with 11 points but shot just 4-of-15 (.267) from the floor. Columbia held the Pride to .314 shooting on the night.
 
Durr got going in the second quarter with seven points in a span of 3:30. Her third straight bucket gave the Lions their largest lead of the half, 27-19, with 5:41 to go before the break. Hardy, sophomore Riley Casey and sophomore Madison Pack all knocked down threes as Columbia shot 57 percent (8-14) in the period. A couple Hofstra buckets in the final minute made it a four-point game, 36-32, at the half.
 
Both teams had trouble scoring coming out of the locker room for the second half but Columbia held its lead throughout the third period. Six straight points capped by a Clemmons pull-up turned it back into an eight-point lead. The Lions strung together six more to go up by double digits for the first time in the final minute before the fourth.
 
Columbia opens the home season on Monday when it welcomes Army (1-0) to Levien Gymnasium. The Black Knights won their season opener Friday night as well, 57-42, over LIU Brooklyn. Tip on Monday is set for 7 p.m.
 
POST-GAME NOTES
- First-years Sienna Durr (15), Madison Hardy (11), Mikayla Markham (8) and Lilian Kennedy (2) all scored their first collegiate points. Sydney Brown also made her collegiate debut.

- Durr and Markham and junior Stephanie Flynn all made their first collegiate starts.
 
- Columbia improved to 15-18 in season openers since joining the NCAA Div. I ranks in 1986-87. The Lions have now won each of the last three times they've opened the season on the road, including four of the last five dating back to 2013-14.
 
- Lilian Kennedy's four blocks were the most by a Lion since Josie Little had four against Yale on Feb. 5, 2016.
 
- The Lions improved to 11-6 all-time against Hofstra and have now won five straight in the series dating back to 2001.

WATCH ON ESPN+
After the Ivy League announced its partnership with ESPN, all home and Ivy League games are scheduled to be played on ESPN+. To sign up for ESPN+ for as low as $4.99/month or $49.99/annually, and catch all the action this season click here.