NEW YORK — Yale used a 24-3 second-half run to overtake the Columbia women's basketball team, 67-54, on senior night Saturday at Levien Gymnasium.
The Lions honored the careers of seniors Abby Lee, Josie Little and Sarah Elston prior to tip-off. Lee played in her 101st career game and made her sixth career start. Despite being forced to medically retire from the sport prior to the start of the season, Elston and Little were there to cheer on the Lee and the Lions from the bench.
"This senior class stuck with us, trusted our coaching staff and believed in what we are trying to accomplish," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith said. "They embody that every day in their action. Their hearts are in the right place and they've left the jersey in a better place than it was when I got here. I'm proud of them for helping move this program forward."
Columbia (8-17, 4-8 Ivy) led through the majority of the first half and scored six straight third-quarter points to go on top, 43-34, midway through the period. Yale (16-11, 6-6 Ivy) outscored the Lions 15-1 the rest of the quarter, putting up 25 points in the frame on 11-of-17 shooting to take a 49-44 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
Riley Casey scored on Columbia's opening possession of the fourth quarter, but Yale held the Lions without a field goal over the next five minutes to go up double figures. Janiya Clemmons ended the drought on one of her patented mid-range jumpers with 4:11 to play but the damage was done.
First-year Sienna Durr led the Lions with 17 points and seven rebounds on the evening. She was joined in double figures by Riley Casey (12) and Janiya Clemmons (11). The trio was coming off 20-point performances in Friday night's 31-point victory over Brown.
Emsbo led Yale offensively, matching Durr's 17 points while hitting 8-of-16 from the field. Thirteen of Emsbo's 17 points came in the second half. She and Alex Cade each secured a game-high eight rebounds. Alexandra Maund scored 14 points off the bench.
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively. The Lions were 0-for-8 shooting before Durr hit a 3-ball at the 4:41 mark to get her team on the scoreboard. Columbia took its first lead of the night off a Durr bucket inside in the final minute of the quarter and went up 13-10 heading to the second.
Durr went on to score the first five points of the second quarter before first-year Mikayla Markham completed a 14-0 Columbia run to put the home team up, 20-10. A Casey jumper with 4:40 left in the half pushed Columbia up 11 points, 26-15, but Yale scored nine of the final 11 points to trim the margin to four at the half.
The two sides were scoring at will through the opening five minutes of the third quarter. Maund scored on three straight possessions for Yale to get them within a bucket but Clemmons answered with the next four Columbia points to turn it into a 41-34 game. Two free throws by Casey out of a timeout extended the cushion to nine before Yale took over. The Lions were limited to 11 points through the final 14:42.
The regular season comes to a close next weekend when the Lions visit Dartmouth and Harvard.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Columbia fell to seventh place in the Ivy League standings and is two games back of fourth-place Yale for the final spot to qualify for the Ivy League Tournament. Dartmouth (5-7) and Cornell (5-7) are tied for fifth.
- Senior Abby Lee played in her final home game, which was the 101st game of her collegiate career.
- Durr, Clemmons and Casey have all reached double figures scoring at least 15 times this season.
