Columbia University
Fordham
Columbia Visits Fordham Tuesday Night
12/10/2018 3:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lions and Rams square off for the first time in 18 years
NEW YORK – Columbia women's basketball plays its final game before winter break on Tuesday when it takes on Fordham for the first time in 18 years. Tip from Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+.
OPENING TIPS
• Columbia and Fordham were regular opponents up until the turn of the millennium, meeting 11 times between 1987 and 2000. The Lions last visited Rose Hill Gym in 1995. All 11 prior series meetings have been held in the first two weeks of December. Columbia's last series victory was exactly 28 years ago, Dec. 11, 1990, at Levien Gym.
• Columbia last played on Wednesday and fell to Cal State Fullerton, 61-58. The game was Columbia's 11th annual Education Day and was played in front of a program-record crowd of 2,602 at Levien Gym. Elementary school students representing 19 New York City institutions were in attendance.
• First-year Sienna Durr has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice and Player of the Week once through her first nine collegiate games. Durr leads the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (6.7), marks that each rank top 10 in the Ivy League. She has reached double figures scoring in four straight games.
• Junior Janiya Clemmons has been named to the Ivy League Honor Roll four times through the first five weeks. Clemmons ranks second on the team in scoring (11.0), rebounding (6.0) and assists (2.4). She is coming off a career-high 17-point performance against Cal State Fullerton in which she shot 7-of-13 from the floor.
• Tuesday's game is the second of four straight the Lions will play in the five boroughs. Three of the four games come at home with Fordham representing the only road game.
• Columbia's first-year class has provided 56 percent of the team's points, 50 percent of its rebounds and 58 percent of its assists this season.
• First-year Sienna Durr ranks No. 9 among NCAA freshmen in field goal percentage (.480). She and junior Janiya Clemmons rank top five overall in the Ivy League.
• Durr ranks No. 2 in the Ivy League in free throw percentage (.756).
• First-year Mikayla Markham ranks No. 1 in the Ivy League in assists per game (5.3). She also ranks No. 48 nationally and No. 5 among NCAA freshmen. She has had at least five assists in her last four games played.
• First-year Madison Hardy is 20-for-53 (.377) and from 3-point range and ranks No. 2 among qualified players in the Ivy League (min. 2 makes/game).
• First-year Lilian Kennedy had a season-high six rebounds in last Wednesday's loss to Cal State Fullerton.
• Sophomore Riley Casey started her first game of the season against the Titans.
• Columbia hopes to end a seven-game losing streak, its longest since dropping the last nine games of the 2015-16 season.
• The Lions are coming off their first loss by three points or less since January 3 at Hampton, 60-58.
SCOUTING FORDHAM
• Fordham (5-5) is coming off a three-point loss at Pitt, 65-62, last Wednesday. Four of its five losses have come against high-major opponents (Pitt, Georgetown, Texas, Penn State). They won two of three at the Gulf Coast Challenge (Nov. 23-25), defeating Ball State and Washington before falling to then-No. 10/9 Texas. Fordham is coming off a 24-10, 12-4 Atlantic 10, season in which it advanced to the Round of 16 at the WNIT. This season, the Rams rank No. 1 in the country in fewest turnovers per game (10.7). Redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh averages a team-high 19.1 points per game, which ranks second in the A-10. She leads the league in 3-pointers made (24), attempted (77) and minutes played. As a team, the Rams are 11th in the NCAA in 3-point attempts.
DURR DOUBLE DIPS ON WEEKLY HONORS
• First-year Sienna Durr was named both Ivy League Co-Player and Rookie of the Week for games played Nov. 26 - Dec. 2. In doing so, she became the first Lion in program history to earn both Ivy honors in the same week. The rookie from Grinnell, Iowa, averaged 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in road games against Saint Joseph's and Boston College. She registered her first collegiate double-double in an overtime game against the Hawks, posting 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and followed with her second double-double against Boston College, scoring a career-high 23 points while tacking on 11 boards. Durr completed the week shooting 48 percent (13-27) from the field and 75 percent (12-16) from the foul line. Durr was also listed on the week's Met Basketball Writers Association's (MBWA) Honorable Mentions.
#ROADTOIVYMADNESS
• The Ivy League men's and women's basketball tournaments have a new home this season. After the first two years of the tournaments were held at the Palestra in Philadelphia, this year's tournaments will be hosted by Yale at Payne Whitney Gymnasium. The top four men's and women's teams will earn berths to the tournament with the semifinals on Saturday, March 16, and the championships on Sunday, March 17. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For tickets and more information please visit IvyMadness.com.
