NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team outscored Brown in every quarter and dominated from start to finish, picking up its 20th victory of the season, 85-56, Saturday afternoon in Ivy League action on Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
The victory secured Columbia's first 20-win season as an NCAA Div. I member and was the program's first since the 1985-86 Hall of Fame team that went 21-6 and advanced to the Div. III Regionals. Columbia (20-5, 11-2 Ivy) also improved on its best Ivy League season in program history by earning its fifth season sweep in league play.
"It's great when you can wrap up, at home, a 20-win season," head coach Megan Griffith said. "It was great to see contributions from everyone today, as well. I think our team, one through 15, really bought into the game plan … We talked about winning all four quarters, and we did that today. It's the second time this year that we've won all four quarters … I was proud of them tonight – 33 field goals and 28 assisted is pretty good too."
Saturday's assist total is the fifth-most in a game in program history, and the most since posting 29 in a, 99-43, rout of NJIT in December of 2019.
Mikayla Markham was honored prior to the start of the game as the lone senior on this year's roster. Playing in front of friends and family, Markham got the starting nod and made what may very be her final appearance on her home floor count, filling up the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Now with the program's first 20-win season in more than 35 years, Markham, a senior captain, will leave with more Ivy League wins than any other team in the program's 36-year history.
"It's awesome to see our work pay off and to get more people on our train here," Markham said. "It feels really good just seeing all our hard work pay off over the years."
Abbey Hsu had 18 points and was 5-of-6 from the outside, Kaitlyn Davis had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Jaida Patrick tacked on 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Columbia dominated on the glass, 51-23, and shot 50 percent (33-66) on the afternoon, which included making 10 threes. The Lions' bench outscored Brown, 29-8.
Columbia broke a 12-all tie with a 10-2 run to close out the first quarter and never looked back. A 13-0 run in the latter part of the second quarter ballooned the lead to 41-18. Sienna Durr and Hannah Pratt capped off the burst with back-to-back threes.
The game was never in doubt after that. Columbia led by 20 or more the entire fourth quarter and went up by as many as 32 before the final horn sounded.
The Lions have secured the No. 2 seed for the Ivy League Tournament. Before they get there, they'll conclude the regular season next Friday, March 4, when they travel up to Cornell. Tip-off from Newman Arena in Ithaca is set for 6 p.m. ET.
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
