NEW YORK – Led by clutch fourth-quarter performances from Abbey Hsu and Lilian Kennedy, the Columbia women's basketball team outscored Cornell 28-15 in the fourth quarter to register a 76-66 come-from-behind win Saturday afternoon at Levien Gymnasium. The contest marked the start of Ivy League play for both teams.
 
The victory improves Columbia to 10-4 overall and puts the Lions in the win column to start the Ivy League season for the first time since 2014. The win was Columbia's ninth in its last 10 tries, seventh straight at home and fifth this season when trailing in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Cornell drops to 7-6 overall with an 0-1 league start.
 
The Lions trailed by as many as six in the fourth quarter but used a 6-0 run to grab its first lead since the first half, 59-58, on Abbey Hsu's breakaway layup with 5:53 remaining. Cornell quickly retook the advantage off a triple by Kate Sramac, but Hsu answered with back-to-back threes of her own and sophomore Hannah Pratt hit another to send the Levien Gymnasium crowd into a frenzy with the Lions up seven.
 
"I think we're taking a lot of pride, not just in that this is our home, but in that what we do between these lines has nothing to do with who walks in this gym," head coach Megan Griffith said. "As long as we can keep that mindset, that momentum and bring it on the road with us, this team is going to be really special."
 
Pratt's trey polished off an 18-5 run and gave the Lions a 68-61 lead with 3:31 remaining. Sophomore Sienna Durr would go on to deliver the exclamation point with under a minute to go, draining a three from the left wing to pad the cushion to eight and put the game out of reach.

Columbia ended the afternoon shooting over 50 percent from the field and hit 10 threes. The Lions shot 62.5 percent in the fourth quarter and were 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Hsu and Durr scored a game-high 17 points apiece. Both were extremely efficient, as Hsu hit 5-of-7 from 3-point land and Durr connected on 7-of-11 from the floor. Meanwhile, senior Janiya Clemmons and sophomore Mikayla Markham combined for 25 points, 12 assists and seven steals. Clemmons scored a dozen with career-highs of seven steals and five assists.
 
"[Hsu] is learning so much," Griffith added. "My favorite part about her is how coachable she is. Every challenge that has been thrown her way she's accepted with grace and just wanted to get better."
 
Pratt led all players on the glass with eight rebounds, helping the Lions outduel Cornell, 32-28, on the boards, also chipping in five points and a career-high six assists. It marked the first time the Big Red were outrebounded all season – they entered the contest ranked No. 3 in the NCAA with a rebounding margin of +14.3.
 
Kennedy and Hsu combined to score 15 of Columbia's 28 fourth quarter points. Trailing by six, Kennedy scored seven straight beginning with a 3-point play, followed by a layup before pulling the Lions within a single point, 58-57, after Mikayla Markham stole the ball and found her classmate under the basket with 6:19 left.
 
Cornell was led by Samantha Widmann and Shannon Murloy, who both scored 16 points.
 
Cornell used a 9-0 run to take a 29-22 lead midway through the second quarter. After Danielle Jorgenson hit a 3-pointer, Samantha Widmann scored six straight points to give Cornell its seven-point lead with just under seven minutes before halftime. The Lions eventually trimmed the margin to four points at the break, 40-36.
 
A pacey first quarter resulted in the two teams deadlocked at 20. Sramac hit a triple at the buzzer to pull the score even.
 
Columbia and Cornell go toe-to-toe again next Saturday, Jan. 25, in Ithaca, N.Y. Tipoff for that game is at 1 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.