CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Columbia found its offense in the second half and frustrated Harvard all day on the other end, as the Lions walked out victorious, 72-64, in Ivy League women's basketball action on Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion.
Columbia (11-3, 2-0 Ivy) ended the third quarter on a 9-0 run to take control of the game. They then started the fourth quarter with a three on each of their first three offensive possessions to build a 14-point lead.
Carly Rivera,
Sienna Durr and
Hannah Pratt buried the three triples and Harvard (7-9, 1-3 Ivy) was never able to fully recover.
"We've earned the right to call ourselves a good program and a program that people are preparing for," Columbia head coach
Megan Griffith said. "We reiterated to the team how important it is to start games with a defensive identity in mind and not just let our offense dictate defense."
Despite the Crimson getting off 87 total shots and taking 34 more attempts than the Lions, both teams would end the game with the same amount of made field goals. Columbia overcame 25 turnovers by being efficient in its shot selection, hitting 24-of-53 (.453) from the floor, compared to Harvard's 24-of-87 (.276) mark.
Abbey Hsu led the way offensively with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The sophomore guard was a perfect 4-for-4 from the perimeter in the first half and ended the game 5-for-7, climbing to sole possession of eighth in the Columbia record books with 117 career threes. She also added a season-high nine rebounds to go with three assists, two blocks and a steal.
A big part of Columbia's second half success was the play of
Hannah Pratt and
Nicole Stephens. Pratt did her part on the glass, grabbing nine second-half rebounds on her way to a career-high 14. Stephens, who didn't step onto the court until the second half, scored a season-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including two clutch threes in the fourth quarter to counter Harvard's runs.
"That's the beauty of our team. We are just deeper than most teams in our league and we can go to people that might have played smaller roles in the past," Griffith added. "If your number is called, you've got to step up, and I was really proud of those two specifically tonight."
Along with Hsu and Stephens,
Sienna Durr and
Kaitlyn Davis scored in double figures for the Lions. Durr was 5-of-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc on her way to 14 points. Davis made contributions all over the court, scoring 13 points (7-9 FT), with eight rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Pratt and Rivera each tallied a team-high four assists.
For Harvard, first-year Harmoni Turner led the offense with 20 points on 7-of-22 shooting. Tess Sussman (14) and Lola Mullaney (11) joined her in double figures.
The Lions had to knock off the rust of having played just one game in the 32 days prior to Saturday's matinee in Cambridge. Harvard jumped out to a 12-3 lead but Columbia found some rhythm and used a 10-1 run to tie up the game by the first media timeout. Hsu had five points along the way to help warm up the offense.
Both teams were cold from the field through the first part of the second quarter. The Lions didn't score their first points until a Rivera trey at the 5:37 mark to break a six-minute scoreless drought. After Harvard had pulled ahead, Hsu tied things up twice on consecutive threes and later found Durr inside with 10 seconds left in the half to give Columbia a one-point advantage.
Columbia's turnover woes continued into the third period as Harvard scored the first five points to take a 33-29 lead. However, the Lions would stay composed and outscore Harvard 16-4 the rest of the period. Hsu buried a step-back three with a hand in her face that sparked a 9-0 run to end the quarter.
The Lions took that momentum into the fourth, where they hit each of their first three treys for what wound up being five consecutive 3-point makes between the two quarters. Pratt's shot from the top of the arc at the 8:11 mark capped an 18-3 run that put Columbia up 54-40.
Harvard wasn't done. The Crimson punched back with a 10-1 run to make it a five-point game at the 4:00 mark, but Stephens stepped up and hit some big shots down the stretch. The sophomore out of Pickerington, Ohio drained a three from the left wing to bump the margin back to eight and later hit another from the corner that all but cemented Columbia's third straight victory against the Crimson.
"Coach always talks about how it takes all 15 players so when your name is called you have to be ready," said Stephens. "I think being in scout and getting ready for this whole week has really prepared one through 15 and whoever gets called we're always ready to step up."'
The Lions return home to host Cornell (6-8, 1-2 Ivy) on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Monday's opening tip from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m. ET.
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