NORFOLK, Va. – Led by 17 points from
Abbey Hsu and a near triple-double from
Jaida Patrick, Columbia went on the road and put together a gritty 40-minute performance to take out Old Dominion, 62-59, in the Second Round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament on Sunday at Chartway Arena.
After taking an eight-point lead with 44 seconds remaining, the Lions (24-6, 12-2 Ivy) had to sweat out the final moments. Old Dominion (24-10, 12-6 C-USA) scored twice on one possession to cut the lead in half, turned the Lions over and sank a 3-pointer with 6.5 on the clock to make it a one-point game.
The Monarchs fouled
Nicole Stephens, who sank 1-of-2 with 5.1 ticks left to increase the lead to two. After calling time and advancing the ball, ODU's Brianna Jackson came up short on a turnaround jumper down low that would have tied it.
Jaida Patrick got the rebound and was fouled with 1.1 showing on the clock and hit 1-of-2 at the foul line to increase the lead to three.
ODU had one more chance to force overtime but the Lions were up to the task. The Monarchs got the ball in to Iggy Allen, but her shot was blocked by
Nicole Stephens before it ever really took off, as the horn sounded to send the Lions to the regional semifinals.
"Our team is battle tested," Columbia's sixth-year head coach
Megan Griffith said. "I told our team, 'This game isn't just about the preparation we did yesterday or the day before … This is about September. This is about the year before. This is about the hard work you guys have put in all season.' The team that's the most prepared usually shows out and wins. It was really good to see, against a very good Old Dominion team, that we came out together and got this W."
Hsu's 17 points led the way while
Kaitlyn Davis (11),
Hannah Pratt (11) and
Jaida Patrick (10) all scored in double figures. Pratt was clutch from long range, ending the afternoon 3-for-4, while Davis added five assists and came up a rebound shy of a double-double. Patrick also had nine boards to go with a career-high eight steals, tying Columbia's single-game record for steals.
"We've been working really hard for this," Patrick said. "It was really important to lock in on defense. That was our main goal, and making sure we were finding each other, finding our teammates. We just had to make sure we stuck to our game plan and played our game."
The Lions started off slow, missing a few bunnies underneath and shooting just 4-of-18 in the first quarter. The home team used a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead, but Columbia scored six straight on back-to-back threes by
Hannah Pratt and Hsu to quickly get back within one.
"[ODU] had a nice game plan against us," Griffith went on to say. "I thought that we withstood that well, handled it well and were able to come away with a nice team win."
The threes by Pratt and Hsu ignited what might have been Columbia's best second quarter of the season. The Lions scored 11 of the first 15 points, tying the game for the first time, 19-19, on a
Kaitlyn Davis trey and going up three when Hsu was fouled on a bucket at the 3:24 mark. They closed a 16-5 run with Hsu's third triple to take their largest lead of the half, 27-20.
At the break, the Lions were outscoring ODU, 14-2, off turnovers. Patrick had five of her eight steals to help turn the Monarchs over 11 times in the half.
The Lions exploded out of the locker room, hitting six of their first eight shots and going up 11 off a Patrick 3-ball, followed by a back-door cut inside by Hsu. ODU weathered the storm and used a 9-0 run to pull back within a possession. Allen had four of her game-high 21 points in the frame.
Timely fourth-quarter buckets kept the Lions in front throughout.
Hannah Pratt's triple with 2:59 to play increased the margin to nine, which was enough to survive a chaotic final minute and advance to the Round of 16.
The Lions move on to play the winner between Boston College (20-11, 10-8 ACC) and Quinnipiac (21-11, 14-6 MAAC) in the regional semifinals. The date, time and location of that game is to be determined.
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram, and the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com.
