By: Matt Sugam
NEW YORK – Columbia women's basketball came to Cambridge to take care of some unfinished business, and the Lions couldn't have looked more locked in and ready to go.
Jaida Patrick was 11-of-13 from the field for a career-high 23 points and Abbey Hsu had 18 points, as Columbia dominated Yale Friday night, 67-38, to advance to the Ivy League Tournament Championship Game. Saturday's title game will come against Princeton (23-4, 14-0 Ivy), the top seed, who is ranked No. 24 in the latest AP Top 25. The Championship Game will tip at 5 p.m. ET.
Friday night's win improved Columbia to 22-5 on the season, etching the 2021-22 team as the winningest in program history. The previous record was held by the 1985-86 Lions (21-6).
"I hope you all enjoyed watching Columbia play today," sixth-year coach Megan Griffith '07CC said. "We're not done. We have unfinished business and we'll be ready to go tomorrow."
The business trip will go until Saturday, where Columbia will get a rematch with Princeton for a chance to play for its first Ivy League tournament title.
Columbia jumped out 10-0, thanks to suffocating defense and efficient offense, and never looked back in the wire-to-wire victory. With the Bulldogs not scoring until midway through the first quarter, the Lions led 21-5 after the 10 minutes, capped off by a four-point play by Hsu on her third 3-pointer of the quarter.
"We always practice for the first 10 minutes and we just want to make sure we throw the first punch," Hsu said. "I'm very proud of my team."
Hsu now has 95 treys on the season. The single-season record for an Ivy League player is 99. The All-Ivy League sophomore and Patrick were a one-two punch, outscoring Yale by themselves, 41-38.
Patrick – a junior transfer from Duke – began blossoming in Morningside Heights midway through the season.
"It took me a little bit to adjust to my role here, but my teammates made it super easy, and shout-out to them. They find me in transition, finding me open shots, getting me involved where they know that I'll be able to do something with it," Patrick said. "So it's really all my teammates finding me."
Columbia led Yale (16-11, 9-5 Ivy League) 39-15 at the intermission The Lions led by as many as 28 in the third quarter and by 30 early in the fourth.
"We didn't come here to play one game," Griffith said. "We came here to win, so I was prepared for two in September [when we came back]."
The top-seeded Tigers escaped with a 72-67 win against host Harvard in Friday's first semifinal. Columbia will be looking to avenge two regular-season losses to the only team Coach Griffith has yet to defeat.
"They had to battle for every minute of that game. We got to rest a lot of people tonight, so I think the tables have turned a little bit in that way, but I'm not taking any handouts," Griffith said. "We're going to earn everything tomorrow night. Every minute of that game they're going to feel us.
"We're at the point of the season where we're just getting started. It feels kind of weird to just be saying that in March, but we're very young and we're very hungry."
And looking to go dancing.
The winner of Saturday's Championship Game will get the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which would be a first for Columbia at the Division I level.
Tickets for the Ivy League Championship game can be purchased here.
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
