NEW YORK – Kitty Henderson poured in a career-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and added eight assists, as Columbia women's basketball dispatched Towson, 80-57, Thursday night at Levien Gymnasum.
Columbia (2-2) dominated in nearly every facet, outscoring the Tigers (1-1), 42-26, in the paint, outshooting the Tigers by a large margin and ending the night with a, 45-33, advantage on the glass. The Lions assisted 24 of their 36 made field goals.
"This team has been so much fun and we still have so much growing to do," said Henderson in her postgame interview with Lance Medow. "It's so much fun to play with this team. There are so many options. Everyone is a scorer – everyone is a threat – and I think that's special about this team."
Abbey Hsu added 16 points and eight rebounds. Cecelia Collins registered 15 points, going 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from downtown.
"I think we were able to find some easy ones in transition. At the same time, just find each other," Collins said. "I think we all trust each other so much that I think sometimes we have a sixth sense for where everyone is going to be on the court. We were just able to knock them down today."
Columbia raced out to a 10-2 lead after a strong take down the lane from Collins at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter. Towson answered with an 11-0 run, keyed by a 6-for-6 effort from the foul line to grab its lone lead of the first half before the Lions held them scoreless over the final 1:43 of the frame.
The Tigers scoreless drought ended after nearly four minutes of game action, but the Lions shared the ball well and were able to finish at the rim to build a double-digit lead with 3:36 remaining in the second. Towson found its rhythm and pulled within four in the closing moments before the Lions exploded for four points in the final four seconds of the half. Henderson connected on a layup and Riley Weiss stole the inbounds pass, banking it off the glass on the horn sounded to make it 39-31 at the break.
Columbia made it 13 unanswered after scoring the first nine points of the third quarter and never looked back. The Lions put down the exclamation point after
Blau Tor registered her first career points on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:53 on the clock to put Columbia in front, 78-53.
The win also marked the Columbia debut for
Ava Sciolla, a transfer from Maryland, who logged 10 minutes off the bench. First-year
Fliss Henderson entered the starting lineup for the first time in her young career.
Towson was led by Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Lions will fly out Saturday for two games in the Bahamas, taking on Georgia and Florida in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship. The tournament will take place at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center in Nassau. Columbia battles Georgia on Monday at 11 a.m., followed by Florida on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
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