NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team (24-6, 12-2 Ivy) is set to host Boston College (21-11, 10-8 ACC) Thursday night in the Third Round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
 
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. Tickets can also be purchased on site at the ticket window located at the southeast corner of 120th & Broadway.
 
UPDATED SPECTATOR POLICIES:
Effective March 14, 2022, masking will no longer be required indoors or outdoors at Columbia University. Masking will become optional, and recommended in crowded settings. 

All spectators in attendance, 5 years of age and older, must show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter all Columbia Athletics venues. Proof of full vaccination includes two doses of approved mRNA vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 
 
For more information, please visit the Columbia Athletics venue policy page at GoColumbiaLions.com/VenuePolicies.

BROADCAST COVERAGE:
Thursday night's game will be carried by ESPN3, which is available by visiting ESPN.com or through the ESPN app. Lance Medow and Maren Walseth will have the call.
 
Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Live updates will also be posted to the women's basketball team's Twitter page (@CULionsWBB).

5 THINGS TO KNOW:
 
1. COLUMBIA'S WNIT RUN
• Columbia defeated Holy Cross, 80-69, at home in Round 1 of the WNIT. In Round 2, they traveled to Norfolk, Virginia and eliminated Old Dominion in a close finish, 62-59. The Lions are making their WNIT debut after earning the Ivy League's automatic-qualifying spot into the field of 64.
 
• Holy Cross, the Patriot League regular season champion, used a 9-0 run to close the margin to three, 55-52, early in the fourth quarter, but the Lions answered back with the next seven and never looked back. Columbia went 12-of-14 at the foul line in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Abbey Hsu led the Lions with a game-high 24 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the outside. She also racked up six rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Jaida Patrick scored 18 (6-13 FG) and Kaitlyn Davis added 15.
 
• Old Dominion used its size and athleticism to throw the first punch and lead by as many as seven in the first quarter on Sunday. The Lions recovered with a dominant, 16-8, second quarter, spurred by eight points from Abbey Hsu and six more from Kaitlyn Davis. That momentum carried Columbia into the second half, where they led by as many as 11 midway through the third quarter. An eight-point lead with 43 seconds left vanished to just one, but Columbia held on with two big defensive stops in the final five seconds. Patrick ended the game with a near triple-double of 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight steals, which tied the program's single-game record for steals. 2. A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
• Just 16 teams remain in the tournament – four in each region. Thursday night's winner between Columbia and BC will move on to face the winner of Seton Hall and Drexel in the Regional Finals. The game between the Pirates and Dragons also starts at 7 p.m., and is being contested at SHU's Walsh Gymnasium.
 
• Click here for a complete look at the 2022 WNIT Bracket. 3. HSU-TING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
• Abbey Hsu enters the game with the most career 3-pointers in Columbia women's basketball history (170), as well as the most treys in a season in Ivy League history (105). She broke both records in the WNIT First Round victory over Holy Cross, surpassing Katie Benzan's previous Ivy League record of 99 in the first half, as well as Melissa Shafer's (2008-12) previous Columbia career record of 166 in the second half.
 
• Entering Thursday's game, Hsu has scored 500 points this season, becoming just the fourth Lion in program history to do so. Camille Zimmerman (2014-18) did it twice and holds the single-season record of 608 points from her 2016-17 junior campaign. Hall of Famer Judie Lomax is next on the list in front of Hsu, scoring 521 points as a senior in 2009-10.
            Single Season Record: Points (Columbia)
            1. Camille Zimmerman - 608 (2016-17)
            2. Ellen Bossert - 598 (1985-86)
            3. Camille Zimmerman - 565 (2017-18)
            4. Judie Lomax - 521 (2009-10)
            5. Abbey Hsu - 500 (2021-22) 4. POWER CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• Including wins over Clemson and Georgetown this season, Columbia is 6-7 in its last 13 games against power-conference opponents (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, BIG EAST, SEC, Pac 12). The 12-game span began in 2016 with an overtime win at home over Providence. The Lions then opened the 2017-18 season by defeating the Friars on the road, 73-64. The Lions earned their first ACC win in the 2017-18 season as well, when they defeated Boston College, 68-60, in front of a record 2,372 fans on Education Day. In 2019-20, they added to the tally with a 54-49 victory on Education Day over Georgetown (Dec. 6)
 
• Other than its wins over Clemson and Georgetown, the Lions also faced Missouri on a neutral court at the Christmas City Classic, hosted by Lehigh. Columbia made a valiant second-half comeback, pulling within two points, 79-77, with under two minutes remaining after trailing by as many as 16 in the first half. The Tigers pulled away in the end, 87-80. 5. THE OPPONENT
• Boston College was tabbed as the first team out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament field. The Eagles went into Selection Sunday with a NET ranking of 49. They've made quite the turnaround since going 7-23, 2-14 ACC during that 2017-18 season in which they fell to Columbia. Head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee took over the program after that season, improving to 14-16, 3-13 ACC in 2018-19, followed by a 20-12, 11-7 ACC record in 2019-20. This is BC's second 20-win season in the last three years.
 
• The senior-laden Eagles are led by three-time All-ACC selection Taylor Soule, who is averaging 16.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the season. Soule has been dominant in the WNIT, going for 21 points (9-15 FG) in the First Round as part of a, 69-44, win over Maine, followed by a career-high 33 points and 16 rebounds on 14-of-18 shooting in Monday night's, 94-68, victory over Quinnipiac.

• BC excels offensively, ranking Top 40 in the NCAA in scoring offense (72.7) and assists per game (15.9), as well as No. 15 in the country in shooting percentage (.455). They do give up their fair share of points in the process, ranking 231st nationally in scoring defense (65.9). They also struggle turning the ball over, averaging 18.5 per game to sit worse than 300th in the NCAA.
 
---
 
MORNINGSIDE HOOPS
The newly branded Morningside Hoops podcast is back for a fourth season. Formerly known as Inside Columbia Basketball, the podcast features weekly interviews with coaches and members of the men's and women's basketball programs. New episodes are available weekly on SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
 
To listen to this week's episode, click here.
 
--
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.