By: Matt Sugam (@MattSugam)

NEW YORK - Megan Griffith always hates Senior Day.
 
The Columbia head coach has a deep love for her players, many of whom she's built relationships with since recruiting as young teenagers. Watching them grow on the court and into Ivy League educated young women in the classroom during their four years in Morningside Heights, she has a tough time seeing them go.
 
However, Saturday's festivities to celebrate senior Mikayla Markham came with a silver lining. Markham will be able to slip on the Columbia blue for at least a couple more weeks as Columbia ramps up for the program's first postseason appearance in D-I history.
 
"Usually I'm saying goodbye and that is the last time they were in the Columbia jersey at home," Griffith said. "But we know we have bigger fish to fry and I'm just proud that we get to do it with her as our leader."
 
The team captain filled up the stat sheet with four points, five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block as Columbia closed out their home Ivy League season with a convincing, 85-56, win over Brown on Schiller Court at Levien Gym. Markham was honored prior to the game for Senior Day, family in tow to receive flowers, her framed number 13 jersey and a picture at midcourt with the coaching staff. Markham was a pivotal piece to the transformation of Columbia women's basketball from a perennial bottom four team to entering this year's Ivy League Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Manasquan, New Jersey native and product of St. Rose High School dished out a first-year record 120 assists in 2018-19 as the program began to make strides with an 8-19 overall record and 4-10 Ivy mark. Now, after having secured the first 20-win season since the Div. III days in 1985-86, Markham, a senior captain, will go out having led a team with more Ivy League wins (11 and counting) than any other team in the program's history.
 
"It's been awesome to see more and more people get on our train here," Markham said. "It feels really good just seeing all our hard work pay off over the years."
 
With signs of gratitude lining the bleachers, Markham made the start Saturday against Brown. She has played in 68 games in her three-year playing career, which includes over 340 points and 215 assists. 
 
Having her junior season wiped out due to COVID canceling the Ivy League season in 2020-21, she jumped from being a sophomore to a senior. Markham will graduate in May and hopes to play a post-graduate year while pursuing a master's degree.
 
"It was interesting, for sure – definitely not what I expected coming into college at all," Markham said. "It feels like I went quickly, but I feel like I embraced it. And I think my teammates have done a great job helping me along with that. I feel older than I am, for sure."
Locked into the No. 2 seed for the Ivy League Tournament, Columbia will play its semifinal game against the No. 3 seed on Friday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
The Lions will look to take care of their unfinished business after making it to the Ivy League Tournament for the first time 2019-20 as the No. 4 seed, but never getting to play due to COVID-19.
 
"We're just trying to make steps in the right direction and I think we're doing that," Markham added. "Which is exciting."
 
The next step is the season finale at Cornell on Friday, Match 4 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
"It's great when you can wrap up at home a 20-win season, building hopefully to 21, and continuing that on into the postseason," Griffith said.
 
And into next year.
 
With Markham the lone senior graduating this May, the sixth-year coach will have a slew of talent returning from the best team in program history.
 
Of course – in true coach fashion – Griffith may have an eye on the future, but is focused on the present.
 
"It's really amazing to know that we're going to build with the same group, and there will be a lot of maturing that can happen with the core of our team." Griffith said. "But I think that's something that we'll think about when we get there. Honestly, we're just really focused on finishing this year the way that we want and write history."
 
​​For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.

Matt Sugam 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