NEW YORK — The Columbia women's basketball team overcame a rusty first half to take the lead in the final minutes of Saturday afternoon's contest against Albany. However, the Great Danes did enough down the stretch to close out the calendar year with win, holding off the Lions, 62-58, at Levien Gymnasium.

Columbia (2-9) clung to Albany's (3-10) heels the entire game before taking its first lead when sophomore Riley Casey was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2:30 to play. Casey calmly buried all three at the stripe for a one-point advantage, but Albany went right back on top when leading scorer Kyara Frames hit a three from the left wing with less than 1:30 remaining.

Casey came back to the rescue, finding a way to get back to the line with less a minute left and tie thing back up. A costly turnover on Columbia's next possession put the Great Danes up three before Casey scored again to cut the deficit back to one with 30 seconds to go.

The Lions immediately fouled Alexi Schecter, who hit both free throws to regain a three-point advantage. Casey went for a quick bucket on the next possession but got turned around in the lane and took an off-balance shot that Albany rebounded. Chyanna Canada hit one of two to make it a two-possession game with 18 ticks left and the Lions were unable to generate another chance to extend the game.

"The biggest positives we can take from today are that we're playing in close games and gaining valuable experience," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith said. "It's hard to play from behind but I liked our fight and our grit to claw back at the end. Playing in these types of close games down the stretch will ultimately help us when it comes time for Ivy League season."

Casey joined Hardy in double figures with 14 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. First-year point guard Mikayla Markham dished out six assists to go with eight points and four boards. Sophomore Imani Whittington went for a career-high five steals, helping the Lions to a 21-13 advantage in turnovers.

Frames led the Great Danes with 16 points and was joined in double figures by Schecter's 14 and Canada's 12 off the bench. Albany hit five of its nine shots and nine of its 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Columbia surrendered the first nine points of the afternoon before Hardy scored the team's first basket nearly five minutes into the game. The rookie led all Lions with 16 points off the bench and matched Frames' 16 for Albany.

The Lions scored the last four points of the quarter thanks in part to a Casey jumper in the final seconds to pull back within five. They cut the lead to one multiple times in the second quarter, the last coming at 17-16, before five straight Albany points capped by a Frames triple extended the advantage back to six. First-year point guard Mikayla Markham hit a running floater at the halftime buzzer to make it a four-point game.

Albany was outrebounding the Lions 27-14 at the break on the way to finishing the game plus-20 on the glass. Neither team shot above 30 percent in the opening 20 minutes but the Lions were able to hang around by only having four turnovers.

The second half began much like the first, with Albany scoring the first six points to build its first double-digit lead of the game, 31-21. It remained a 10-point deficit midway through the quarter until junior Janiya Clemmons sparked a 7-0 run over the course of three minutes to make it a one-possession game. Frames hit another three to put the visitors back up by seven but Hardy matched her at the third-quarter buzzer to send the Lions to the fourth down by four.

A steal and coast-to-coast drive by sophomore Imani Whittington brought the game to its first tie, 41-41, less than two minutes into the fourth. The Lions tied it up four times before Casey buried all three free throws to give Columbia its first lead. The Lions had a chance to build on that lead but came up empty and Albany jumped back on top to earn its third win of the season.

Columbia rings in the New Year a day before turning around to host Hampton on Wednesday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from Levien Gymnasium.

POST-GAME NOTES

- Saturday's game was the third in the series and the first contested at one of the team's home courts. Columbia and Albany first met at the NCAA Div. III East Regionals in 1986. They last faced off in 2005 at a tournament hosted by Cal.

- First-year Mikayla Markham recorded her sixth consecutive game with at least five assists.

- Sophomore Imani Whittington's five steals were the most by a Lion since Kathleen Ryan went for the same amount against Central Penn on Jan. 3, 2016.

- First-year Madison Hardy scored in double figures off the bench for the fifth time this season.

- Columbia held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the sixth time on the season.

- The Lions shot a season-high 91.2 percent (11-12) from the foul line.