BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sienna Durr posted career-highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds and the Columbia women's basketball team gave the defending MAC champions everything they could handle, ultimately falling down the stretch to Buffalo, 82-75, Friday night at Alumni Arena.
 
Durr finished the night 11-of-21 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from 3-point land. She scored 10 of Columbia's 15 points in the second quarter to keep the Lions in front, 43-42, at the intermission. The Grinnell, Iowa native went on to hit three second-half triples as her team looked to spoil undefeated Buffalo's (4-0) night in which it honored last year's championship team.
 
"The ball was falling through the hoop for me, so that was really great, but unfortunately we did not get the win and that is always the goal," said the 2018-19 Ivy League Rookie of the Year in her postgame interview. "I felt like we had a pretty good team effort for the most part. There are a lot of little things we can clean up but we really battled with Buffalo all the way through … We proved that we can battle with anybody and win. If everyone is clicking we are going to be really great."

Durr's 11 made field goals and five made 3-pointers were both also career highs. Her 31-point night ties for the 11th-most points in a game in program history. Riley Casey was the last to score as many, doing so in last season's victory over Hampton. 

Columbia (1-3) shot over 70 percent in the first quarter to lead 28-20 after only 10 minutes. First year guard Abbey Hsu went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc on her way to 13 first-quarter points. She and Durr combined to hit three consecutive triples for a 9-0 run that put the Lions in front 24-18 at the 1:21 mark. Hsu would finish the game with 18 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double.
 
After a blistering pace to the first quarter, things slowed down for both teams in the second. A bucket on the opening possession gave the Lions their largest lead of the game, 30-20, but the Bulls answered with five points over the next 43 seconds to quickly cut it in half. However, Durr would score 10 of Columbia's final 13 first-half points, including a 3-ball that was followed less than a minute later by two free throws to extend the margin back to 42-34. Buffalo scored eight of the half's final nine points to make it a one-point game at the break.
 
The Lions maintained their lead all the way until the 2:46 mark of the third quarter, when Dyaisha Fair hit a 3-pointer that put Buffalo on top, 54-52. Fair went on to score a team-high 25 points while her triple spurred a 7-0 Bulls run. Durr ended the run and an 0-for-9 Columbia shooting drought by sending home a three. Hannah Pratt scored with less than 30 seconds left in the quarter to get Columbia back within four.
 
Hsu started the fourth quarter with her fourth 3-pointer of the night to make it a 61-60 game, but that was as close as it got. Buffalo scored the next six points and forced the Lions into nine fourth-quarter turnovers to lead by as many as 14. Columbia showed great fight over the last two minutes but ran out of time to complete a comeback.
 
Columbia outshot the Bulls on the night from the field and from 3-point range, but Buffalo turned 23 offensive rebounds into 27 second-chance points. Meanwhile, the Lions, who were only outrebounded overall by one, had just 12 second-chance points off their 19 offensive boards. Keowa Walters led the Bulls with 14 rebounds.
 
Columbia continues its streak of three games against three conference champions on Sunday when it visits 2019 NEC Tournament champion Robert Morris. Tip from the newly built UPMC Events Center is slated for noon.
 
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