By: Matt Sugam (contributions from GoColumbiaLions.com)
NEW YORK — Columbia women's basketball head coach Megan Griffith has nicknamed Kaitlyn Davis the unicorn — the 6-foot, All-Ivy League senior has done things the seventh-year coach has never seen before.
Add the first triple-double in the program's 39-year history to the list.
Davis had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Columbia cruised past Dartmouth, 79-50, during the team's annual Pride Game on Saturday.
"My teammates were finishing shots, finishing layups, making tough plays and getting stops so we could run plays on the offensive end," Davis said.
She was 8-of-10 shooting on the day and added four steals. Regularly recording a double-double, Davis knew she was close early in the fourth quarter. She handed off the ball to Abbey Hsu for a 3-pointer before finding Hsu again a couple of minutes later for a step-back jumper that resulted in the historic performance.
"Really excited for Kaitlyn," Griffith said. "I thought today she played like she was the best player on the floor. I told her when we were coming up, I was surprised it took her this long to get a triple-double, but here we are, celebrating history and a balanced team effort, which I was really happy to see."
Patrick added 17 points, five rebounds and three steals. Abbey Hsu had 19 points and five rebounds. Hannah Pratt added 17 points, three blocks and four rebounds.
Columbia jumped out to a 29-16 lead after the first quarter in the wire-to-wire victory on Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium in front of 1,335 fans. The Lions shot 60 percent in the period.
Dartmouth (2-19, 0-7 Ivy) would show a little fight at the start of the second quarter. However, by halftime, Columbia (17-3, 6-1 Ivy) led by 20 after Carly Rivera dished it to Hsu at the top of the arc, who drilled the 3-point buzzer-beater. The Lion's bench mobbed the sharpshooting Hsu and teammates on the Lions midcourt logo before heading to the locker room with a comfortable 45-25 lead.
"The start of the third quarter we were a little lax, exchanging baskets," Griffith said. "So you just have to keep reminding them of the goals that we had before the game even started."
The lead would balloon to as many as 32 late in the fourth quarter as the Lions shot 50 percent from the field, including 37 percent beyond the arc. Dartmouth, meantime, was held to 29 percent shooting from the field.
Columbia is in the midst of a five-game homestand, with a chance to take an inside track to its first Ivy League title.
"It's just business as usual. Taking care of what we need to do. Sticking to our game plan, sticking to ourselves. No matter who we face on the other side, it's always Columbia basketball and that's what makes us win or lose," Davis said. "So just focus on ourselves and be better next week."
Sitting alone in first place in the Ivy League, Columbia hosts Penn next Friday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m., looking to avenge the lone Ivy League loss of the season.
Tickets can be purchased here. The Lions will then host Princeton Saturday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m., with the game airing on SNY and ESPN+.
"The games – they're going to show up. These kids are warriors. They're competitors. I'm not worried about that," Griffith said. "To me, it's the everyday habits that we're trying to build, because this group, I still don't think has really reached our potential yet, so we just stay locked in. Penn on Friday is just another game."
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Matt Sugam '23 SPS has been covering sports in the NY metropolitan area for over a decade. He has spent the last nine years covering college and professional sports as a stringer for the Associated Press and contributing to The New York Times, USA Today Network, NJ.com, and SNY.tv. He's covering Lions Athletics for gocolumbialions.com while pursuing an M.S. in Strategic Communication at Columbia SPS. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Visit his website at www.mattsugam.com
