By: Matt Sugam

NEW YORK – Competing in its first Ivy League Tournament, Columbia women's basketball gave top-seeded and nationally ranked Princeton a battle until the end, but the Tigers prevailed to win the 2022 Tournament Championship, 77-59, Saturday evening at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
Abbey Hsu led the way with 16 points en route to the All-Ivy League Tournament team, while Jaida Patrick added 13. First-year Kitty Henderson added 11 points, while Kaitlyn Davis had 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
"Unfortunately, we just didn't play very well today. I'm not happy with that effort. They shouldn't be either," sixth-year head coach Megan Griffith '07CC said. "We played for a good 15 minutes tonight, and that's not good enough against this program. We just have to want it more and show up, and we just didn't do that tonight."
 
Columbia won the opening tip, and Davis, an All-Ivy League selection, scored the first bucket. Princeton would get called for traveling on its first possession. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the teams were tied at 16.
 
The second quarter is where the Tigers did their damage. With Patrick and Davis in early foul trouble, the Tigers turned a 23-22 deficit into a 12-point lead at the break, outscoring the Lions 15-2 and holding them without a field goal over the last 8:09 of the half. 
 
"The level of players and experience that they have – that is what helps them win. We just don't have that experience right now," Griffith said, adding, "We're just so inexperienced compared to them when it comes to moments like this, so I don't think it's intimidation. I honestly think it's just lack of experience. Us just getting another year is really going to help us for this exact moment next season."
 
The Lions came roaring back in the second half, cutting it to nine on a couple of occasions, Princeton (24-4, 14-0 Ivy League) would lead by as many as 17 midway through the third quarter. Columbia trailed 55-42 headed into the final stanza after Hsu nailed a 3-pointer as the shot clock hit zero in the waning moments of the quarter. 
 
"All season long, this is what we had our eyes on and it's not a shock that we're here. Like coach said, we didn't show up. So it's not like, 'oh, we made it here, we're satisfied.' We had our eyes on this all season," Hsu said. "We just got to get better."
 
It was her second 3-pointer of the game to tie her for second place all-time in the Ivy League for a single-season. The All-Ivy League sophomore now has 97 treys, two behind the single-season record of 99.
 
Patrick hit a 3-pointer before Henderson followed it up with a floater to make it 59-51 with 7:02 to go.
 
"For being a freshman, playing in this game, this is not the last time you are going to see her in this game," Griffith said. "She's a really special player."
 
Unfortunately, it was the closest Columbia would get in front of 925 fans inside cozy Lavietes Pavilion on Harvard's campus just outside of Boston on a cold and snowy mid-March day.
 
"Just the fact that our fans came all the way from New York City to come support us – have a fan bus to come support us – it was amazing to feel," Hsu said. "We unfortunately let them down, but just knowing that we have that energy throughout the season and going into next season, it's going to motivate us to be better."
 
Despite the crushing loss, Columbia (22-6, 12-2 Ivy League) still had its best season in the program's 36-year history, and the players won't be going off to enjoy spring break like in years past. Instead, they'll be preparing for the WNIT for the first time in program history.
 
The WNIT selection show is scheduled for Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET. The Lions earned the Ivy League's automatic bid to the tournament.

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.
 
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