NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team (2-6) welcomes in Cal State Fullerton (4-4) for its 11th annual Education Day game Wednesday morning at Levien Gymnasium. Tip is set for 11 a.m. with the game airing live on ESPN+.
OPENING TIPS
• Columbia has partnered with the New York City Department of Education for the 11th consecutive year to invite more than 2,000 elementary school students representing 19 New York City institutions to Columbia.
• Columbia has won three straight years on Education Day, which includes a, 68-60, victory last season over Boston College in front of a program-record home crowd of 2,372 at Levien Gymnasium. The win was Columbia's first in program history over an ACC opponent. The Lions defeated UMass Lowell, 76-57, on Education Day in 2016 and also topped Saint Francis University, 82-78, in 2015.
• First-year Sienna Durr was named Ivy League Co-Player & Rookie of the Week on Monday, becoming the first Lion in program history to earn both honors in the same week. She averaged 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of road games at Saint Joseph's and Boston College and registered a double-double in each game. She is coming off a career-high 23 points against BC. She leads the team in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (6.9).
• Junior Janiya Clemmons was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for a third time through the first four weeks of the season on Monday. Clemmons enters the game No. 2 on the team in scoring (10.3), rebounds (6.0) and assists (2.6). She has scored in double figures in each of the last two games and four times total on the season.
• Wednesday's game is the first of four straight the Lions will play in the five boroughs. Columbia plays at Fordham next Tuesday before taking off for final exams. The Lions then return to action with two home games Dec. 29 and Jan. 2.
• Columbia's first-year class has provided 56 percent of the team's points, 51 percent of its rebounds and 60 percent of its assists this season.
• In addition to being named Ivy League Player & Rookie of the Week, Sienna Durr was also listed on the Met Basketball Writers Association's (MBWA) Honorable Mentions.
• Durr ranks 10th among NCAA freshmen in field goal percentage (.506). She ranks 2nd overall in the league.
• First-year Mikayla Markham ranks No. 1 in the Ivy League in assists per game (5.3). She also ranks 51st nationally and No. 7 among all NCAA freshmen. She has had at least five assists in four straight games.
• First-year Madison Hardy is 19-for-46 (.413) and from 3-point range and ranks No. 2 among qualified players in the Ivy League (min. 2 makes/game). Her percentage ranks among the top 100 nationally.
• First-year Lilian Kennedy hit season-highs in points (8) and minutes (25) Sunday at Boston College.
• First-years Mikayla Markham, Madison Hardy, Sienna Durr and Lilian Kennedy all started last Thursday at St. Joe's. It marked the first time the Lions started four first-years in more than 10 years.
• Cal State Fullerton's last visit to Levien Gymnasium was also on Education Day, defeating the Lions, 80-54, in 2013.
• Columbia hopes to end a six-game losing streak after starting the season 2-0.
SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
• Cal State Fullerton (4-4) has won its last two games entering Wednesday. The Titans topped CSU Bakersfield, 64-56, on Saturday and earned an Ivy League victory over Dartmouth, 67-62, last Wednesday. Jade Vega and Raina Perez combined to score 33 of the Titans' 67 points against the Big Green and followed with 34 of the team's 64 points against Bakersfield. Perez, a sophomore transfer from Northern Arizona, averages 13.7 points and a team-best 6.6 assists per game. Fifth-year senior center Daeja Smith is the team's leading scorer (15.1) and rebounder (10.5) but has been limited to nine points in each of the last four games. As a team, Fullerton is shooting 45.4 percent on the season, which is tops in the Big West and top 50 in the NCAA. They also lead the conference in assists per game (16.5) and 3-point defense (.275).
• Columbia leads the all-time series 3-2, which began back in 2000. The Lions defeated the Titans, 61-46, two years ago in California.
#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.
