By: Matt Sugam
NEW YORK – The 2021-22 Columbia women's basketball team has been etching its name in the history books all season.
From the program's first win at a Power Five conference school when they defeated Clemson, en route to the best start in program history at 5-0, followed by best start in Ivy League history when they began 7-0 in conference play, it's been a season to remember.
Saturday night added another tally to the board. Sienna Durr came off the bench to wake up the slumbering Lions, scoring 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, as Columbia cruised to a season sweep over Dartmouth, 66-42, on Schiller Court at Levien Gym.
Now with the most Ivy League wins (10) in the program's 36 years competing as a member, the Lions now have a chance for a banner season. They'll play to keep their hopes alive for their first regular season Ivy League title when they host Princeton (19-4, 11-0 Ivy) Wednesday night.
Columbia (19-4, 10-1 Ivy League) overcame a slow start and took a 14-11 first quarter lead on Dartmouth (3-21, 2-10 Ivy League) en route to the comfortable victory. Durr scored on the final three Lions' possessions to end the quarter. From there, here team was in cruise control.
The spark came in a new role for Durr, who helped lay the foundation for a program on the rise, thrust into a starting position as a first-year before earning the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met Women's Div. 1 Rookie of the Year in 2018-19.
"It's a really good feeling for sure," Durr said. "Switching up roles, I'm just ready to embrace whatever role that I'm put in. So to be able to come off the bench and be a spark and get things rolling for the team is just really great because it just shows that anybody can go off on any night."
After recently taking on a new role off the bench, Durr has taken her coach's decision in stride. The sixth-year coach credits the junior's maturity when she talked through the scenario as an adult.
"The first thing she said was, 'coach, I'm ready. I knew this was coming. I'm ready,'" Griffith said. "She's been a great teammate. I think it allows her to get some perspective of the game too, and not just like being in it and competing right away. I think that's one of her greatest strengths, but also something she's trying to work on and harness.
By halftime, Columbia led by double figures, 30-20. The lead swelled to 20 for the first time in the third quarter and the Lions led by as many as 27 before all was said and done.
Abbey Hsu had a big second half, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds. Kaitlyn Davis had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists. Hannah Pratt added seven points and four rebounds off the bench and Jaida Patrick had seven points and seven rebounds.
Columbia was able to clear the bench in the dominating win.
"I'm happy everybody got in the game today," Griffith said. "It's always good when you can have players six through 15 get onto the floor and have the first five cheering for them just as hard as those guys do every day. I'm really proud of our team and just love our culture."
The Lions now look to avenge their lone Ivy defeat, and keep pace to win the first conference title in program history, when they host Ancient Eight power Princeton. Wednesday's night tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free t-shirt.
Rescheduled from early January due to COVID cancellations, it's the biggest game in program history. A perfect scenario to begin taking care of the unfinished business from March of 2020, when COVID canceled the program's first Ivy League Tournament appearance.
"It's really cool. We haven't been in this position before," Durr said. "It just shows how much hard work and dedication that we put in ever since before I was a freshman and since I've been here and over the year that we were off. It just really goes to show that every single day that we put in and all the adversity that we hit really matters. It's going to get us good stuff in the end."
"We got to enjoy this and we got to know every day is an opportunity. It's not a burden," Griffith added. "We've got to look forward to getting after it on Monday, getting ready on Tuesday, and we'll be game ready on Wednesday."
Tickets for the Lions' remaining home games are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. For venue policies, click here. Fans unable to watch the games can see them live on ESPN+.
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Matt Sugam '23 SPS has been covering sports in the NYC Metropolitan area for over a decade. He has spent the last eight years covering college and professional sports as a stringer for the Associated Press, while also contributing to The New York Times, USA Today Network, NJ.com, and SNY.tv. He will be covering Lions Athletics for gocolumbialions.com while pursuing an M.S. in Strategic Communication at Columbia's School of Professional Studies. Follow him on Twitter @MattSugam.
