Columbia Announces 2018-19 Women's Basketball Schedule
9/10/2018 3:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
This season's women's basketball schedule features games against the ACC, Big Ten, NCAA Tournament opponents, as well as 12 home games at Levien Gymnasium
NEW YORK — Columbia women's basketball head coach Megan Griffith '07CC announced the program's 2018-19 schedule on Monday. The schedule features 27 regular-season contests, 12 home dates, non-conference trips to Illinois, Milwaukee, Boston College and St. Joseph's, as well as local games against Hofstra, Army and Fordham.
"This schedule is really going to challenge us," said Griffith, who enters her third season at the head of the program. "We're playing great mix of mid-major and power-conference opponents. Last year was a really difficult test with seven postseason teams in non-conference play. It was a great experience for a young and hungry team. We need to make sure we're still playing against quality competition while being competitive at the same time."
The season begins Friday, November 9, when the Lions renew a local rivalry at Hofstra. It will mark the first meeting between the programs since 2003 when the Lions earned a, 76-62, victory at Levien Gymnasium.
The 2018-19 home opener is on tap for the following Monday, November 12, with another local game against Army West Point. The Black Knights have won at least 20 games in five of the last six seasons, which includes two Patriot League titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and two invitations to the WNIT. It will be Army's first visit to Levien since 2012.
"One of the important things for this schedule was to face local and regional competition," Griffith added. "It's nice when you don't have to do an overnight trip and still face quality competition. I think the local games deliver a little more excitement for everyone, and we have some really good talent in this area with teams like Hofstra and Army. We'll also see Fordham and Albany later on in the year."
Following the home opener, Columbia flies to the Midwest for two games in three days against Milwaukee (Nov. 16) and Illinois (Nov. 18). The Panthers have reached a postseason tournament each of the last three seasons, including two 20-win campaigns. The visit to Illinois will mark just the second time Columbia has taken on a Big Ten opponent – the Lions fell three points shy of upsetting Iowa at the Nevada Nugget Classic in 2009.
Houston makes a return trip to New York the day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21) after Columbia traveled to Texas last December. The Lions then hit the road for three straight at Colgate (Nov. 25), St. Joseph's (Nov. 29) and Boston College (Dec. 2). Columbia defeated BC last season, 68-60, and Colgate two years ago, 75-67, both in the Big Apple. The win over the Eagles marked the first over an ACC opponent in program history.
Columbia returns home to play Cal State Fullerton for what will be the 11th annual Education Day game. Last season's Education Day victory over Boston College set a program attendance record of 2,372. The Lions defeated the Titans two years ago in California, 61-46.
A short trip to the Bronx to take on Fordham (Dec. 11) is in store just before the Lions break for exams. The local rivalry hasn't been contested since 2000. The Lions stay home over the winter break to host Albany (Dec. 29) and Hampton (Dec. 2) before closing out the non-conference schedule at Mercer (Jan. 6). The Bears went 30-3 with an undefeated 14-0 Southern Conference mark to earn a No. 13 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. They came up five points short of Georgia in the first round.
Columbia's 33rd Ivy League season begins with back-to-back weekends against Cornell. Opening day of conference play is Saturday, Jan. 19, in Ithaca. Columbia begins a five-game homestand when the Big Red make the return trip down to New York the following Saturday (Jan. 26).
Princeton (Feb. 1) and Penn (Feb. 2) visit Levien Gymnasium to open the month of February. Both games will be part of a Columbia men's and women's basketball doubleheader. The Lions conclude three straight weekends at home with Harvard (Feb. 8) and Dartmouth (Feb. 9).
Columbia spends the next two weekends on the road at Yale (Feb. 15), Brown (Feb. 16), Penn (Feb. 22) and defending champion Princeton (Feb. 23). The Lions defeated Brown, in a shootout, 90-74, last season at the Pizzitola Center. The road weekend at Penn and Princeton will also feature doubleheaders with men's basketball.
The final two home games come the weekend of March 1-2 against Brown and Yale. Senior Day will be celebrated on Saturday against the Bulldogs. The regular season concludes the following weekend (March 8-9) at Dartmouth and Harvard.
The 2019 Ivy League Tournament will be held at Yale's Lee Amphitheater the weekend of March 16-17. The tournament was moved to Yale after being hosted at the Palestra the last two seasons. The top four teams through the regular season qualify with the tournament champion earning the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
