Photo by: Bryce Todd / Columbia University Athletics
Women’s Basketball Debuts at Home Tuesday Night
11/8/2021 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lions host Hampton in 2021-22 opener at 7 p.m. ET
NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team will play its first regular season game in 612 days on Tuesday, opening up the 2021-22 season on its home floor against Hampton. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. Tickets can also be purchased on site at the ticket window located at the southeast corner of 120th & Broadway.
FAN INFORMATION
Fans must enter from the street level at the doors located at the southeast corner of 120th & Broadway. Fan capacity at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is limited to 70 percent of the venue's listed capacity per University Task Force protocols. All fans 12 and older must show proof of vaccination upon entry. All fans are required to wear a mask at all times.
Fans arriving to Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium are required to adhere to Columbia Athletics' and Columbia University's venue protocols. Please find Columbia's venue policies here.
GAME COVERAGE
Fans unable to attend Tuesday night's season opener cam watch the game live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Live updates will also be posted to the women's basketball team's Twitter page (@CULionsWBB).
5 THINGS TO KNOW:
1. BASKETBALL RETURNS
Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium will host a regular season basketball game for the first time in 612 days. The last regular season contest played inside Columbia's home gym was back on March 7, 2020, four days before the Lions were scheduled to leave for the 2020 Ivy League Tournament.
2. THE RETURNING CORE
Columbia returns the majority of its roster from 2019-20, including over 80 percent of its scoring and over 83 percent of its rebounding. All-Ivy selections Sienna Durr and Abbey Hsu are also back. Durr, a junior, and Hsu, a sophomore, were named the All-Met Basketball Writers Association Div. I Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Hsu and Durr also led the Lions in scoring two years ago with 14.3 and 12.8 points per game respectively.
3. TABBED THIRD
Columbia was picked third by the media in this year's Ivy League Preseason Poll. The Lions received 87 total votes to earn its highest preseason ranking in program history. The Lions received five more votes than Yale (82) and six more than Harvard (81) in what the media suggests will be a tight race for the top four qualifying spots in the 2022 Ivy League Tournament.
2021-22 Ivy League Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Predicted Order of Finish (First-Place Votes)
1. Princeton (12) - 122
2. Penn (3) - 108
3. Columbia - 87
4. Yale - 82
5. Harvard (1) - 81
6. Cornell - 41
7. Dartmouth - 29
8. Brown - 27
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Columbia is coming off a 2019-20 season in which it went 17-10 with an 8-6 Ivy League record to earn the right to attend Ivy Madness for the first time. The program's 17 wins and eight Ivy victories were its second-most since becoming a Div. I program in 1986-87. Along the way, the Lions won a program-best six consecutive Ivy League games, including three straight weekend sweeps. However, Columbia never got its postseason shot, as the Ivy League Tournament and subsequent 2020-21 season were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. THE OPPONENT
Hampton played 15 games during a shortened 2020-21 season and went 4-11 with a 4-7 mark in MEAC competition. Returning sophomore forward Nylah Young was named a Second Team Preseason All-MEAC selection. Last year she averaged a team-leading 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She was also all-conference as a freshman.
Overall, Hampton returns 13 letterwinners from last season and has welcomed in three newcomers. Their returning players average a combined 68 points per game.
If history is any indication, Hampton will be trying to pressure Columbia into turnovers. Last season, the Pirates held one of the top 25 turnover margins in the nation (+5.13) thanks to tallying nearly 10 steals per game.
Tuesday will mark the third meeting in the last five years between the two teams. They played their first series contest on Jan. 3, 2018 down in Hampton, a game in which the Pirates snuck away with a 60-58 decision. The following year, Columbia earned its redemption, trouncing Hampton at Levien Gymnasium, 88-63, behind a career-high 31 points from Riley Casey.
--
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. Tickets can also be purchased on site at the ticket window located at the southeast corner of 120th & Broadway.
FAN INFORMATION
Fans must enter from the street level at the doors located at the southeast corner of 120th & Broadway. Fan capacity at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is limited to 70 percent of the venue's listed capacity per University Task Force protocols. All fans 12 and older must show proof of vaccination upon entry. All fans are required to wear a mask at all times.
Fans arriving to Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium are required to adhere to Columbia Athletics' and Columbia University's venue protocols. Please find Columbia's venue policies here.
GAME COVERAGE
Fans unable to attend Tuesday night's season opener cam watch the game live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Live updates will also be posted to the women's basketball team's Twitter page (@CULionsWBB).
5 THINGS TO KNOW:
1. BASKETBALL RETURNS
Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium will host a regular season basketball game for the first time in 612 days. The last regular season contest played inside Columbia's home gym was back on March 7, 2020, four days before the Lions were scheduled to leave for the 2020 Ivy League Tournament.
2. THE RETURNING CORE
Columbia returns the majority of its roster from 2019-20, including over 80 percent of its scoring and over 83 percent of its rebounding. All-Ivy selections Sienna Durr and Abbey Hsu are also back. Durr, a junior, and Hsu, a sophomore, were named the All-Met Basketball Writers Association Div. I Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Hsu and Durr also led the Lions in scoring two years ago with 14.3 and 12.8 points per game respectively.
3. TABBED THIRD
Columbia was picked third by the media in this year's Ivy League Preseason Poll. The Lions received 87 total votes to earn its highest preseason ranking in program history. The Lions received five more votes than Yale (82) and six more than Harvard (81) in what the media suggests will be a tight race for the top four qualifying spots in the 2022 Ivy League Tournament.
2021-22 Ivy League Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Predicted Order of Finish (First-Place Votes)
1. Princeton (12) - 122
2. Penn (3) - 108
3. Columbia - 87
4. Yale - 82
5. Harvard (1) - 81
6. Cornell - 41
7. Dartmouth - 29
8. Brown - 27
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Columbia is coming off a 2019-20 season in which it went 17-10 with an 8-6 Ivy League record to earn the right to attend Ivy Madness for the first time. The program's 17 wins and eight Ivy victories were its second-most since becoming a Div. I program in 1986-87. Along the way, the Lions won a program-best six consecutive Ivy League games, including three straight weekend sweeps. However, Columbia never got its postseason shot, as the Ivy League Tournament and subsequent 2020-21 season were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. THE OPPONENT
Hampton played 15 games during a shortened 2020-21 season and went 4-11 with a 4-7 mark in MEAC competition. Returning sophomore forward Nylah Young was named a Second Team Preseason All-MEAC selection. Last year she averaged a team-leading 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She was also all-conference as a freshman.
Overall, Hampton returns 13 letterwinners from last season and has welcomed in three newcomers. Their returning players average a combined 68 points per game.
If history is any indication, Hampton will be trying to pressure Columbia into turnovers. Last season, the Pirates held one of the top 25 turnover margins in the nation (+5.13) thanks to tallying nearly 10 steals per game.
Tuesday will mark the third meeting in the last five years between the two teams. They played their first series contest on Jan. 3, 2018 down in Hampton, a game in which the Pirates snuck away with a 60-58 decision. The following year, Columbia earned its redemption, trouncing Hampton at Levien Gymnasium, 88-63, behind a career-high 31 points from Riley Casey.
--
MORNINGSIDE HOOPS PODCAST
The newly branded Morningside Hoops podcast is back for a fourth season. Formerly known as Inside Columbia Basketball, the podcast features weekly interviews with coaches and members of the men's and women's basketball programs. New episodes are available weekly on SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
To listen to this week's episode, click here.
--For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Players Mentioned
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