NEW YORK — Sophomore Riley Casey hit seven threes on her way to a career-high 31 points as the Columbia women's basketball team rang in 2019 with a convincing, 88-63, victory over Hampton Wednesday evening at Levien Gymnasium.
Casey converted 7-of-11 from 3-point range, finishing the night 10-of-18 from the floor while tacking on four assists and a season-high four rebounds. The Franklin Road Academy product out of Brentwood, Tennessee, converted a four-point play to put the Lions up 16 with a minute left in the third quarter before polishing off the night with three triples in the fourth. Casey got the shooter's roll on her final 3-pointer, bouncing high off the front rim before falling straight through the center of the cylinder to thwart any thoughts of a Hampton (4-7) comeback.
"I felt like we were really locked in on defense and with our scout today," said Casey, whose career-high seven treys were one off the program's single-game record. "We've been working really hard lately and trying to focus and pull things together … I feel like we've all come along a lot from our first game until now."
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Lions (3-9) that dated back to a 21-point victory over Army West Point in the home opener. However, the Lions had started to turn things around with two narrow losses in their last two home games before it all came together to start off 2019.
"We talk about it as two different seasons and this was the start of our new season," Casey added. "This was our first game. We're 1-0."
The New Year saw Columbia lead wire-to-wire while setting or tying season-highs for points scored, field goals made (34), field goal percentage (.486), 3-point field goals made (13), 3-point field goal percentage (.481) and assists (24). The Lions outrebounded Hampton, 48-30, for their largest rebounding margin of the season and held the Lady Pirates to just six steals. Hampton came into the night averaging more than 13 per contest, a mark that ranked No. 5 in the NCAA.
"It really builds our confidence," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith said. "It's really big when you have a young group that's eager to do a lot of things. They just have to trust themselves. I told them all to take a big breath. It's a new season and it's a new us."
First-year Sienna Durr added 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting to mark her third 20-point game. Junior Janiya Clemmons continued her all-around contributions with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists. First-year Lilian Kennedy grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
Hampton was led by Ashley Bates who posted team-highs of 25 points, six assists and five steals. Bates came into the game fifth in the NCAA in steals per game (4.1). Laren Vanarsdale finished with 13 points.
The Lions hit seven first half 3-pointers to build a 41-32 halftime lead. Casey scored 10 first-quarter points, knocking down two of her three attempts from downtown. Durr completed a 3-point play as part of the opening period before senior Abby Lee hit a 3-ball to double up the Lady Pirates, 22-11.
Trailing by 14 points, Hampton came charging back in the second quarter as Ashley Bates scored eight straight points to get the visitors within five. However, Columbia was up to the task, rebuilding its lead with a Casey triple, two by first-year Madison Hardy and a transition layup by Durr.
Columbia opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run and extended its lead to 15 points on a driving reverse layup by Casey. Several minutes later, a Clemmons layup gave Columbia its largest lead at the time, 56-39. A four-point play by Casey maintained Columbia's advantage, but Hampton, generated two steals off its full-court press to slice the deficit back to nine points heading to the fourth quarter.
Even though Hampton employed its press in the fourth quarter, the Lady Pirates couldn't close the gap. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Casey and a layup by sophomore Imani Whittington capped a 9-0 run that gave Columbia a commanding, 79-60, lead with just over 4:00 to play. The Lions outscored Hampton 27-11 in the final period.
Columbia flies down to Georgia on Friday ahead of a Sunday tilt at Mercer. Tipoff from Hawkins Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Riley Casey's 31 points were the most by a Lion since Camille Zimmerman scored the same amount last February at Harvard.
- Casey's 7-for-11 night from 3-point range is one of the Top 25 3-point percentages (.636) in the NCAA this season (min. 7 made).
- Columbia had two 20-point scorers for the first time since Feb. 3, 2018 at Dartmouth, when Riley Casey scored 21 and Camille Zimmerman scored 20 at Dartmouth.
- First-year Mikayla Markham finished with six assists, extending her streak of having at least five assists to seven consecutive games.
- Columbia's 24 assists were its most in a game since Jan. 3, 2016 in a 102-18 victory over Central Penn.
- The Lions evened up the series against Hampton, 1-1, avenging a two-point loss from last season in Virginia.
