NEW YORK – Columbia women's basketball (7-14, 3-5 Ivy) takes on the top two teams in the Ivy League when it travels to Penn (16-4, 6-1 Ivy) and Princeton (13-9, 5-2 Ivy) this weekend. Both games tip at 5:30 p.m. Friday's game against Penn at The Palestra is on ESPN+. Saturday's game against Princeton at Jadwin Gymnasium is on ESPN3.

OPENING TIPS
• The Lions are coming off an 83-81 victory over Brown on Saturday. First-year Madison Hardy hit two go-ahead 3-pointers in the final minute, including one to break a tie game with 15 seconds remaining. It was Columbia's third Ivy win of the season, already besting last year's total.
 
• First-year Sienna Durr was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for a fifth time this season on Monday. Durr averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor in two games. She scored a team-high 23 in the win at Brown (8-13 FG) and is Columbia's leading scorer (14.7 ppg).
 
• Junior Janiya Clemmons has reached double figures in seven straight games and recorded her first collegiate 20-10-5 game last Friday at Yale, going for 21 points and career-highs of 12 rebounds and five assists. It was her third straight 20-point game after never scoring 20 through her first 69 collegiate games.
 
• Columbia is 5-2 went outrebounding its opponent compared to 2-12 when it does not. The Lions are also 7-3 when shooting at a higher percentage compared to 0-11 otherwise.
 
• Columbia hopes to snap a 21-game losing streak against Princeton and a 15-game losing streak against Penn. The Lions last defeated Penn in 2011 and last defeated Princeton in 2008 (both at Levien Gymnasium).
 
• Columbia's win at Brown was its first when trailing at halftime since Dec. 11, 2017 against Hofstra. The Lions had lost their last 23 straight when trailing at the half, including 10 this season.
 
• Columbia's first-year class has provided 51 percent of the team's scoring, 53 percent of its rebounds and 59 percent of its assists this season.
 
• First-year Mikayla Markham has 105 total assists this season and is currently six away from cracking the single-season top 10. The single-season assists record of 148 is held by head coach Megan Griffith (2005-06).
 
• Markham averages an Ivy League-best 5.3 assists per game and carries a 2.28 assist/turnover ratio, which both rank No. 34 nationally. She ranks third in assists/game among freshmen and No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio.
 
• Sophomore Riley Casey ranks third in the Ivy League in 3-point percentage (.367) and 3-pointers/game (2.57).
 
• Sienna Durr (.494) and Janiya Clemmons (.473) rank No. 2 and No. 3 in the Ivy League in field goal percentage, respectively. Columbia is the only team in the league with two individuals in the top five.
 
• Clemmons tops the Lions in rebounding (6.2) while ranking No. 2 in scoring (12.3) and assists (2.3). She has been named to the Ivy League weekly Honor Roll a team-best nine times.
 
• Riley Casey saw her 10-game double-figure scoring streak snapped against Brown. She scored at least 20 points five times in that span.
 
• Casey posted career-highs of 10 rebounds and seven points in Saturday's win at Brown.
 
• Riley Casey's six 3-pointers against Yale marked the third time this season she has made at least five in a game and the fifth such occasion this season by a Lion.
 
• First-year Lilian Kennedy went a perfect 6-for-6 shooting and scored a career-high 13 points against Brown. She is the first Lion this season to go 5-for-5 or better from the field.
 
• Columbia's two-point margin of victory over Brown was the closest in the series since March 5, 2004 when Brown earned a 67-66 win in Providence.
 
• Columbia attempted 31 threes at Brown, marking the fifth time this season they've attempted 30+ in a game.
 
• Janiya Clemmons shot 10-of-20 against the Bears, becoming the third Lion this season to make 10 field goals in a game and the first Lion since Camille Zimmerman on Feb. 23, 2018 to attempt 20.
 
• Senior Abby Lee is two appearances away from 100 in her career.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
• Penn (16-4, 6-1 Ivy) lost its first league game of the season on Saturday at Harvard in double overtime. Sophomore Eleah Parker, the 2017-18 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, recorded game-highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds in defeat and leads the Quakers in both categories at 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Seniors Princess Aghayere (10.9) and Ashley Russell (10.6) both also average double figures. Russell scored a team-high 16 points and dished out a game-high seven assists to help Penn defeat Columbia in the first meeting between the two sides this year. Penn ranks atop the Ivy League and No. 5 nationally in scoring defense (51.9). They also lead the league in scoring margin (+13.3), field goal defense (.330), 3-point defense (.271), rebounds (43.15), rebounding margin (+6.9), fewest turnovers (13.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.17).
 
SCOUTING PENN
• Princeton (13-9, 5-2 Ivy) has won three straight games to climb to second in the standings after a 2-2 Ivy start. Last weekend, they toughed out a 75-71 win at Harvard before overcoming a 20-6 first quarter by Dartmouth to defeat the Big Green, 82-75. Junior Bella Alarie dropped 41 points against the Big Green, becoming the second player in league history alongside Diana Caramanico to score 40 points twice in a season. She scored an Ivy League record 45 points against the Lions back on Feb. 1 and is averaging a team-best 24.7 points and 10.9 rebounds across 13 games - she missed the first nine of the season with an injury. In Ivy League play, she averages 29.3 points and 13.1 rebounds. Gabrielle Rush and Carlie Littlefield each average 13.3 points on the year.
 
CLEMMONS HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME
• Junior Janiya Clemmons enters the weekend on a seven-game double-figure scoring streak, averaging 17.8 points over that span which includes 20.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists over her last four games. Along the way, Clemmons has registered her first two double-doubles, going for exactly 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 75-65 victory over Harvard and a 69-61 loss at Yale. She is shooting 54 percent from the field (33-61) across her last four games and has scored all but two of her points from inside the 3-point arc. Prior to her three straight 20-point games against Harvard, Dartmouth and Yale, Clemmons had never scored 20 points through her first 69 collegiate games.
 
NCAA FRESHMEN LEADERS
• Columbia's first-year class is holding its own among NCAA freshmen. Point guard Mikayla Markham averages 5.3 assists per game, which is the third-best mark among freshmen and 34th in the NCAA overall. Markham also carries a 2.28 assist/turnover ratio, which is the second-best mark among freshmen and 34th in the country. Forward Sienna Durr is No. 3 among freshmen in field goal percentage (.494), which is a mark that ranks among the NCAA's top 100.
 
INSIDE COLUMBIA BASKETBALL PODCAST
Columbia Athletics debuted a brand new podcast featuring 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 new 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
• The Ivy League men's and women's basketball tournaments have a new home this season. After the first two years of the tournaments were held at the Palestra in Philadelphia, this year's tournaments will be hosted by Yale at Payne Whitney Gymnasium. The top four men's and women's teams will earn berths to the tournament with the semifinals on Saturday, March 16, and the championships on Sunday, March 17. All six games will be broadcast live on ESPN's networks. For tickets and more information please visit IvyMadness.com.