CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – First-year Sienna Durr posted game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds but it wasn't enough to lift the Columbia women's basketball team to victory, as the Lions fell at Boston College, 74-60, Sunday afternoon at Conte Forum.
Durr's 23 points were the most of the rookie's eight-game career. The Grinnell, Iowa, native registered her second consecutive double-double, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor and knocking down 10-of-12 at the free-throw line. She scored Columbia's first seven points and was responsible for nine of its 13 third-quarter points. Junior Janiya Clemmons put up an identical 6-of-13 mark from the field on her way to 12 points.
Columbia (2-6) was within a basket after two of Durr's free throws made it a 38-35 game in the opening minutes of the second half. Boston College (7-1) used its size advantage to open up the lead, going on an 8-0 run in which it held the Lions 0-for-5 with four turnovers over a span of three minutes. The margin ballooned to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter. BC finished the day with a 49-33 advantage on the glass and 44-22 advantage in the paint.
"This is really the first game we didn't have a second punch back after things got tough," head coach Megan Griffith said. "Rebounding has to be a total team effort and we can't just rely on one or two people. Everyone has to have each other's backs."
Boston College was led by junior Georgia Pineau's season-high 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Pineau was 8-of-14 from the floor, helping the Eagles shoot just over 45 percent on the day. Sydney Lowery (13), Marnelle Garraud (11) and Taylor Soule (11) all also reached double figures in the scoring column. Taylor Ortlepp registered a game-high seven assists.
Columbia held junior Emma Guy to eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and five rebounds. Guy came into the day averaging upwards of 14 points, eight boards and an ACC-best 61.8-percent shooting mark from the field.
"I thought we did a good job of neutralizing [Guy]," Griffith added. "When we slowed them down we were able to play well defensively. We just let them get out in transition too often in the second half."
Despite leading for all of eight seconds, Columbia did well to fight back and hang around in the first half. The Eagles hit six straight shots as part of a 12-2 run to open up a 19-7 lead, but the Lions finished the quarter with back-to-back transition buckets by Clemmons and Durr that forced the home team to call for time. First-year Madison Hardy capped a 7-0 Columbia run with her first of three triples on the afternoon to pull back within five.
BC opened with the first two buckets of the second quarter but the Lions were game again. Durr and fellow first-year Sydney Brown answered the call before Clemons hit three straight jumpers in a span of less than two minutes to make it a five-point game again. First-year Mikayla Markham followed by draining a spot-up three with a hand in her face to pull the Lions within two, 27-25.
That was as close as it would get. Columbia was held scoreless over the final 2:18 of the half to go into the locker rooms down six. That set up the Eagles third quarter run that the Lions could not come up with an answer for.
Columbia returns to New York to host their 11th-annual Education Day game on Wednesday where the Lions will take on Cal State Fullerton. Tip is set for 11 a.m.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Sienna Durr recorded her second 20-point game of the year and her first of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
- Mikayla Markham tallied her fourth consecutive game with at least five assists. She entered the day ranked No. 7 among NCAA freshmen in assists per game (5.3).
- Madison Hardy went 3-for-5 from 3-point range to increase her 3-point field goal percentage to .413 (19-46), which ranks No. 2 in the Ivy League.
- Columbia fell to Boston College for the first time after defeating the Eagles, 68-60, last year in New York. This was Columbia's first trip to Conte Forum.
