NEW YORK – Abbey Hsu broke the Ivy League's single-season 3-point record and the Columbia women's basketball program's career 3-point record on the same night, highlighting the Lions' victory over Holy Cross, 80-69, Wednesday in the First Round of the Postseason WNIT at Levien Gymnasium.
 
Columbia (23-6, 12-2 Ivy) made its WNIT debut in the win, eliminating a Holy Cross team that finished the year 20-11 and won the Patriot League with a 14-4 record.
 
Hsu was the catalyst, scoring a game-high 24 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the outside. She broke the Ivy League record with her 100th triple of the season midway through the second quarter. With the Lions looking to put the game away in the fourth, the Parkland, Florida native dropped the 167th trey of her career to stand alone in Columbia women's basketball history, and she's only a sophomore.
 
"It was just nice to get the win," said a humble Hsu during the postgame press conference. "The fact that we're still playing in March, we take pride in that. We're going to attack every game and our goal right now is to win a WNIT Championship." The Lions led nearly the entire night but had to constantly come up with big shots to put away a pesky Holy Cross side. After taking a five-point lead into the halftime break, the Lions scored on four out of five possessions in the third quarter to open up their first double-digit advantage of the night. A 3-point play by Kaitlyn Davis and a patented bucket in transition by Sienna Durr pushed Columbia ahead, 55-43.
 
The Crusaders weren't done yet. They scored six straight to close the quarter and completed a 9-0 run back within three, 55-52, on a Madison Demski 3-ball. Avery LaBarbera, who finished with a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds and eight steals, answered Columbia's next bucket a couple minutes later to keep it a one-possession game.
 
That's when the Lions hit another gear. Sparked by a Jaida Patrick 3-pointer, they went on a 7-0 run to retake a double-digit lead and command of the game. Four of those points came at the foul line, where the Lions went 12-for-14 in the quarter and 20-for-28 (.714) on the evening.
 
"It was nice to be home. I think it showed the support of the athletic department and how much they wanted to have our journey continue this year," sixth-year head coach Megan Griffith said. "It was great to see, on spring break, that there were a lot of people here still excited about Columbia women's basketball. A huge shoot-out to our fans – they've been awesome this entire season and it was great to be back home and get another chance to play at home in this postseason."
 
Patrick scored 18 points and added five rebounds, two steals and a block. First Team All-Ivy selection Kaitlyn Davis had 15 points on a perfect 9-for-9 at the foul line, tacking on seven rebounds, two steals and an assist.
 
Holy Cross did cause Columbia problems in the turnover department. Led by LaBarbera's eight steals, they totaled 10 as a team as the Lions committed 20 turnovers. Fortunately for Columbia, they were able to come up with nine steals and still outscore the Crusaders, 23-18, off turnovers.
 
"Tonight's game, there were some positives, but it wasn't our best four-quarter effort," Griffith echoed. "I thought we showed up when we needed to, especially this young woman to my left (Hsu). It was really good to see her go to work early and leave her mark on the game."
 
The Lions took advantage of a much slower paced Holy Cross team in transition, outscoring them 28-4 on the break. Patrick flashed her speed on a few opportunities to help keep the Lions ahead in key moments. Columbia totaled 21 assists on its 26 made field goals. Hsu's career-high seven led the way, along with a career-high five from Nicole Stephens and four more from Carly Rivera off the bench. Rivera upped her season total to 146, two away from the single-season record held by her head coach.
 
The Lions will play the winner of Towson and Old Dominion, who play each other on Friday on the campus of Towson. The date, time and location of Columbia's Second Round matchup will be determined this weekend.
 
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