HANOVER, N.H. — The Columbia women's basketball team was held to its lowest scoring output of the season in a 60-48 loss to Dartmouth Friday night at Leede Arena.
Columbia (8-18, 4-9 Ivy) shot a season-low 29.8 percent (14-47). Dartmouth (13-13, 6-7 Ivy) shot just 35 percent but generated 10 more shot opportunities thanks to a 18 Lions turnovers and a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Isalys Quinones headed the effort with game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
A 7-0 run between the third and fourth quarters propelled Dartmouth ahead by nine, 46-37, with 8:48 remaining. Sophomore Riley Casey broke up the drought with a 3-pointer on Columbia's next possession, but the Lions would go without a field goal for the next seven minutes as Dartmouth built as large as a 15-point lead. First-year Sydney Brown hit the only other field goal of the period with just over a minute remaining. The Big Green went 10-of-12 at the charity stripe in the quarter to climb into a tie for fourth place in the Ivy League standings.
Casey led Columbia with nine points on a night where 10 different Lions scored but nobody reached double figures. Sophomore Andrea McCormick played a career-high 19 minutes and scored a career-high seven points off the bench. Brown scored eight points to go with five rebounds. Stephanie Flynn also had five boards and a career-high five assists.
Both teams took some time to get into an offensive flow, combining to shoot 3-for-13 in the opening five minutes. McCormick got the Lions going with a triple off the bench and scored five straight Columbia points to cut the deficit to 9-8 at the 3:33 mark. Another triple by Madison Hardy, Columbia's third of the quarter, tied it up at 13 entering the second.
Three of Columbia's five made field goals in the first quarter came from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, all 10 of their 13 field goal attempts in the ensuing 10 minutes were from inside. Dartmouth played from ahead most of the way, hitting four consecutive shots in one stretch to build a 26-19 lead. The Lions settled down with a Clemmons jumper and two free throws from Flynn, but the Big Green scored just before the end of the half to take a 30-25 advantage into the locker room.
Dartmouth scored the first seven points of the second half to jump ahead by 12. The Lions quickly sliced that lead in half as Casey and first-year Mikayla Markham connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in a matter of 30 seconds. Dartmouth called for time but Columbia's extended the run to 10-0 with a post bucket and two free throws from Brown. The Big Green went over 5:30 without a point as the Lions found themselves down a bucket, 39-37.
Quinones gave the home team some breathing room with the final five points of the quarter and Dartmouth controlled most the fourth. The Lions shot 1-of-11 over the final 8:29 and Dartmouth scored its final 10 points from the charity stripe.
Columbia closes out the season Saturday evening at Harvard. Tip from Lavietes Pavilion is scheduled for 5 p.m. with the game available on ESPN+.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Andrea McCormick set new career-highs in points (7), field goals (3), attempts (8) and minutes played (19).
- Stephanie Flynn tallied a career-high five assists.
- Ten different Lions found the scoring column.
- Columbia dropped its fourth straight series meeting to the Big Green after sweeping them in the 2016-17 season series.
- The Lions did not have a double-figure scorer for the first time since Dec. 6, 2015 in a 70-49 loss to Arizona State.
