NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Led by sophomore Sienna Durr's 20 points, the Columbia women's basketball team bounced back from Sunday's loss at Vanderbilt by defeating Tennessee State, 75-65, Monday afternoon at the Gentry Center.
 
Durr was big down the stretch, scoring a dozen points in the fourth quarter as Tennessee State tried to mount a comeback. The Lions led by as many as 18 after a hot-shooting first half but the Tigers pulled to within four in the final minutes. A couple of clutch fourth-quarter threes by Durr and four free throws by the sophomore in the final minute helped hold TSU off.
 
"I felt like our team had a lot of fight," said Durr, last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year. "We showed we can get a lead and hold it all the way until the end.
 
"I was just playing off my teammates. I was looking for them and they found me really well. I was able to hit some threes tonight, so that was awesome. But as a team, once we got into our offensive groove, that's what let us really keep our lead."
 
The win gives Columbia a split of its two games in Nashville and improves the Lions to 8-4 with one non-conference game remaining. Tennessee State fell to 2-8.
 
First year guard Abbey Hsu and sophomore forward Hannah Pratt joined Durr in double figures. Hsu had 13 points, three of Columbia's 15 assists, three of its nine steals and tacked on a block. Pratt had 12 points and added five rebounds, a pair of assists and a block. First year Kaitlyn Davis collected game-high eight rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots.
 
As a team, the Lions blocked 10 Tennessee State shots through the contest, marking the team's most blocks in a game in nearly four years. Six different Lions rejected at least one TSU attempt, which helped limit the host Tigers to 35.5 percent shooting on the afternoon. Meanwhile, Columbia shot over 42 percent, thanks in part to hitting 10-of-18 in the first quarter.
 
After a 5-0 TSU start, Mikayla Markham hit a triple from the top of the arc to get the Lions going. Tennessee State held the lead up until back-to-back buckets by Lilian Kennedy and Abbey Hsu tied things up at 13. Columbia took its first lead off a Hsu triple at the 4:33 mark.
 
The Lions went on a 20-4 run that spanned the final 3:18 of the first quarter and opening 2:17 of the second. A 10-0 run to start the second quarter was capped by a 3-point play from Hannah Pratt, putting Columbia on top, 36-19, at the 7:43 mark.
 
First year Carly Rivera hit from long range in the final minute of the half to give the Lions a 44-28 advantage at the break. Columbia shot 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes, led by 10 points from Pratt.
 
Tennessee State scored nine straight over a two-minute span in the third quarter to get back within single digits. A 3-point play by Jazmine Young and two free throws from Taylor Roberts closed out the spurt. Roberts and Young spearheaded the comeback, finishing the day with game-high 22 and 21 points, respectively.
 
TSU sliced the deficit to seven by the end of the third quarter before making it a four-point game, 61-57, with 4:54 remaining. A couple of timely threes by Sienna Durr and junior Riley Casey kept the Lions ahead by four entering the final two minutes.
 
The Lions kept their composure, defended well and hit all six free throws in the last 60 seconds to cement the road victory.
 
Columbia flies back to New York where it will open up 2020 on Saturday, January 4, against Mercer. Tip from Levien Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.
 
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball program, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaWBB, on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.