Columbia Travels to Face Pair of Conference Champions This Weekend

Friday, November 15

Buffalo, N.Y. / Alumni Arena

7:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Buffalo

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Columbia Travels to Face Pair of Conference Champions This Weekend

11/14/2019 3:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch vs. Buffalo (ESPN+)Watch vs. RMU (NEC Front Row)Follow on Twitter:Live Stats vs. Buffalo Live Stats vs. RMU Game Notes

Lions set to take on defending MAC, NEC winners

NEW YORK – On the heels of defeating the reigning Atlantic 10 champions, the Columbia women's basketball team hits the road to take on two more conference champions from a year ago. The Lions board their first flight of the season to face two-time defending MAC Tournament champion Buffalo Friday night at 7 p.m. The trip continues with a bus ride down to defending NEC champion Robert Morris for a noon tip on Sunday.

Friday's game at Buffalo will be streamed live on ESPN+. Sunday's game in Moon Township will be available on NEC Front Row. Live stats will be provided by UBbulls.com and RMUcolonials.com. Fans can also keep up with the action on Twitter by following @CULionsWBB.

OPENING TIPS
• The Lions are coming off a 70-51 home victory over 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament champion Fordham. Columbia shot 58 percent in the second half to outscore Fordham 38-20. The win was Columbia's first over the Rams since 1990 and snapped Fordham's eight-game series winning streak.

• First year guard Abbey Hsu is averaging 16.7 points and is Columbia's leading scorer through three games. Hsu is shooting 55.3 percent to this point, including 44 percent from long range. Meanwhile, first year Kaitlyn Davis is Columbia's second-leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.0 points and 7.3 boards. The 6-1 rookie has come in off the bench each of the first three games.

• Junior Andrea McCormick is from nearby Erie, Pennsylvania and is a 2017 graduate of Villa Maria Academy. Her hometown is approximately 100 miles from Buffalo and 125 miles from RMU.

• Ironically, Columbia's last win and last loss at the buzzer have come against Buffalo and Robert Morris. Two years ago, Buffalo's Brittany Morrison hit a layup with no time left to give the Bulls a 65-63 win in New York. Back in 2009, Columbia's Lauren Dwyer hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Lions a 64-63 win in New York.

• Columbia leads the Ivy League and ranks No. 11 nationally in free throw percentage (.852).

• Janiya Clemmons leads the Ivy League in total assists (11).

• Columbia's starting five all rank inside the Ivy League's top 30 in scoring.

• Sophomore Hannah Pratt leads Columbia on the glass (8.3), which ranks sixth in the Ivy League.

HSU-TER
• First year guard Abbey Hsu entered Thursday ranking No. 33 in the NCAA in field goals made (21), a mark that ranks top five among NCAA freshmen. Earlier in the week, she ranked as high as No. 9 in field goals made and No. 1 among freshmen.

• Hsu leads the Ivy League in total points scored (50) and field goals made. She ranks No. 4 in the Ivy League in points per game (16.7) and top 10 in field goal percentage (.553).

• In her home debut, Hsu scored a team-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting. She has reached double figures in each of her first three games.

WRAPPING UP FORDHAM
• Sunday's win made it two years in a row that Columbia defeated a reigning conference champion that also advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Lions defeated reigning SoCon champion Mercer, 72-68, down in Macon, Georgia.

• Columbia's bench outscored Fordham 25-2, while the Lions outrebounded their opponent for a third straight game to start the campaign. Last season, Columbia outrebounded its opponent just eight times in 27 games.

• The Lions shot a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line on Sunday, marking the third time in program history they've shot 100 percent (min. 10 attempts) and the first time since Dec. 8, 2009 at Wagner.

• The Lions avenged a 68-49 loss at the hands of the Rams from last season in the Bronx. The 19-point margin of victory was also the same in which Columbia defeated Fordham on Sunday.

HISTORIC DEBUT
• The Lions saw five players make their Columbia debuts in the season opener at Albany, which included first-years Kaitlyn Davis, Abbey Hsu and Carly Rivera, sophomore Hannah Pratt and junior transfer Kallin Spiller.

• Davis shot 10-for-15 from the floor on her way to 23 points and 13 rebounds, becoming the first Lion in program history to post a 20-10 game in her debut. She is also only the third Lion in program history to go for 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season opener, joining Camille Zimmerman (2016) and Michele Gage (2005).

• Davis' 13 rebounds are the most by a Lion in a debut since Judie Lomax had 14 against Oakland in 2008. Lomax transferred to Columbia after playing the 2006-07 season at Oregon State.

• Davis' 23 points are the most by a Lion in a debut since Carolyn Binder scored 28 at LIU Brooklyn in 2013.

• Davis is the first Lion to score 20 points off the bench since Devon Roeper in December of 2015.

• Davis and Hannah Pratt are the first pair of Lions to post double-doubles in the same debut. Chelsea Frazier was the last to do it on her own in 2006. Davis and Pratt are also the first Lions to each post a double-double in the same game since Camille Zimmerman and Devon Roeper did so in a 4OT win against Dartmouth in 2017.

SCOUTING BUFFALO
• Buffalo, the defending MAC Tournament champion, is off to a 3-0 start after defeating Central Connecticut State, Niagara and Cansius to start the season. Last season, the Bulls went 24-10, 12-6 MAC, and were a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated seventh-seeded Rutgers in the first round. Two years ago, the Bulls advanced to the NCAA's Sweet 16. In doing so, the Bulls became the first MAC women's team to win an NCAA Tournament game in back-to-back years since the 1991-1992 seasons. Buffalo is the only team in the nation to have two players averaging 25 points or more (Dyaisha Fair 26.3 ppg, Theresa Onwuka 25.0 ppg).

SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
• Robert Morris, the defending NEC regular season and Tournament champions, bounced back from a five-point season-opening loss at TCU to defeat La Salle in overtime last Saturday. The Colonials followed with a 15-point victory against Youngstown State in their home opener at the new 4,000-seat arena, Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center on Tuesday. Senior center Nneka Ezeigbo heads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Nina Augustin and Holly Forbes also average double figures in the scoring column.

INSIDE COLUMBIA BASKETBALL PODCAST
• The Inside Columbia Basketball Podcast is back for second season. Columbia Athletics debuted the new podcast last season, which features weekly interviews with coaches and members of the men's and women's basketball programs. New episodes are available weekly on iTunes and SoundCloud.

THE IVY LEAGUE ON ESPN+
All home Columbia games and most Ivy League road contests will air on ESPN+ as part of The Ivy League's partnership with ESPN. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial! Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.

#ROADTOIVYMADNESS
• This year's Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments will be hosted by Harvard at Laveites Gymnasium. The top four men's and women's teams will earn berths to the tournament with the semifinals on Saturday, March 14, and the championships on Sunday, March 15. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For tickets and more information please visit IvyMadness.com.