NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team closes out a five-game Ivy League homestand with weekend matchups against Harvard and Dartmouth. The Crimson come to town Friday night for a 7 p.m. tip that will air live on SportsNet New York (SNY). Saturday, the Lions host their annual Play4Kay game at 5 p.m. against the Big Green live on ESPN3. Saturday's game will also be available on tape delay that night at 8 p.m.

ALUMNAE WEEKEND 
• Women's Basketball alumnae who have not yet RSVP'd, please reach out to Emily Maury for event details at egm2141@columbia.edu.

FRIDAY PROMO
• In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the first 100 girls in attendance at Friday night's game, ages 5-12, will receive a free women's basketball headband.
 
#PLAY4KAY
• Columbia will host its annual Play4Kay game Saturday against Dartmouth. The first 300 fans in attendance will receive a pink Columbia drawstring bag. All those who donate to the Women's Basketball Play4Kay fund either online or at the game will be entered to win a Columbia Basketball prize pack. The winner will be announced in the second half of the game. Click here to donate.  The women's basketball team will be wearing pink headbands and warm-ups in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and its mission is to extend and improve the lives of those who are battling cancer.

OPENING TIPS
• Columbia is coming off close losses to perennial Ivy League powerhouses Princeton and Penn last weekend. The Lions were within a point of the defending champion Tigers midway through Friday's third quarter and held a fourth-quarter lead against Penn on Saturday. Riley Casey, Sienna Durr and Janiya Clemmons scored in double figures both days, led by Casey's 22 points against Princeton and Durr's 18 against Penn.
 
• Sophomore Riley Casey is on a seven-game double-figure scoring streak where she is averaging 18.3 points per game. She leads the Ivy league in free throw percentage (.810) and is top five in 3-point percentage (.385).
 
• First-year Mikayla Markham leads the Ivy League in assists per game (5.6), which ranks No. 23 nationally and No. 3 among NCAA freshmen. She is also No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 2 among NCAA freshmen in assist/turnover ratio (2.28), a mark that ranks No. 35 in the NCAA overall.
 
• First-year Sienna Durr boasts a .500 field goal percentage, which ranks No. 3 in the Ivy League, No. 77 in the NCAA and is also the third-best mark among NCAA freshmen.
 
• First-year Lilian Kennedy is averaging 8.1 rebounds over her last six games.
 
• Columbia's first-year class has provided 53 percent of the team's scoring, 54 percent of its rebounds and 60 percent of its assists this season.
 
• First-year Mikayla Markham has 89 total assists this season and is currently on pace to complete the regular season with 144. The single-season assists record of 148 is held by head coach Megan Griffith (2005-06).
 
• First-year Madison Hardy ranks No. 3 in the Ivy League in 3-point field goal percentage (.373). Columbia is the only team in the Ivy League with two players among the league's top five in 3-point shooting.
 
• First-year Sienna Durr leads the Lions in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (6.2).
 
• Junior Janiya Clemmons ranks third on the team in scoring (10.5), second in rebounding (5.7) and second in assists (2.2). She has been named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll a team-best seven times.
 
• Clemmons tied career-highs in field goals made (7) and steals (3) against Princeton. She has scored in double figures in three straight games.
 
• Columbia is 4-2 when outrebounding its opponent compared to 1-10 when getting outrebounded.
 
• Penn's 22 assists on Saturday were the most by an opponent since Dec. 9, 2013 when Iona registered 23.
 
• Columbia hopes to snap a seven-game losing streak against Harvard and avenge last year's season sweep by Dartmouth. Two years ago, the Lions swept the Big Green for their first Ivy League season sweep since 2012-13.

SCOUTING HARVARD
• After sweeping Dartmouth in back-to-back weeks to begin the Ivy League season, Harvard lost on a buzzer-beater at Yale, 65-62, last Friday but turned it around on Saturday to outshoot Brown, 100-83. Junior Katie Benzan scored 25 points against the Bears and leads the offense with an average of 15.0 points per game this season. Sophomore Jadyn Bush and junior Jeannie Boehm each had a double-double in the win and head the effort on the glass this season at 8.6 and 7.0 per game, respectively. Harvard leads the Ivies in field goal percentage (.423), 3-point percentage (.336) and assists per game (16.9). They average 69.8 points per game, which is second-best in the league, but rank seventh in 3-point defense (.309) and last in turnover margin (-2.29).
 
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
• Dartmouth also came up victorious over Brown last weekend, 81-61, outscoring the Bears, 24-2, over the final seven minutes to earn its first Ivy League win of the season. Junior Paula Lenart grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to go with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the victory, while sophomore Anna Luce scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting in just 21 minutes off the bench. Lenart leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 per contest while seniors Isalys Quinones (12.1) and Cy Lippold (10.5) are the two Big Green players averaging double figures scoring. Dartmouth has been held to less than 50 points in two of its three Ivy League losses and enters play with the league's second-worst scoring offense (59.6).
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK TRIO
• Three different Lions have been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week this season. First-year Sienna Durr is responsible for three of them (Nov. 19, Dec. 3, Jan. 7), while Mikayla Markham (Nov. 26) and Lilian Kennedy (Jan. 28) have each been named once. It marks the first time three different Lions have been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week since the 2011-12 season, when Amara Mbionwu, Miwa Tachibana and Caitlyn Unsworth were each selected once. Columbia's five overall Rookie of the Week selections are its most since 2015-16, when Emily Surloff and Josie Little combined for six.
 
NCAA FRESHMEN LEADERS
• Columbia's first-year class is holding its own among NCAA freshmen. Point guard Mikayla Markham averages 5.6 assists per game, which is the third-best mark among freshmen and 23rd in the NCAA overall. Markham also carries a 2.28 assist/turnover ratio, which is the second-best mark among freshmen and 35th in the country overall. Forward Sienna Durr is No. 3 among freshmen in field goal percentage (.500), 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.