NEW YORK – Perri Page secured her first collegiate double-double, recording career-highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Columbia women's basketball team's dominating, 77-52, victory over Providence on Wednesday from Schiller Court at Leiven Gymnasium. The Lions held Education Day for the first time since 2019, welcoming over 2,000 students from more than 20 New York City schools to the game.
With the win, Columbia evens up its record at 4-4 against what has been a grueling non-conference schedule. Entering the day, the seven opponents Columbia had played so far this season were a combined 26-7 (.788), giving the Lions the eighth-toughest head-to-head strength of schedule in the nation.
Abbey Hsu led the Columbia scoring effort with 19 points but Page was the story of the day, going 7-of-11 from the floor and filling up the stat sheet with three assists, a block and a steal. Her 10 boards helped the Lions outrebound Providence (3-4) by 12. Cecelia Collins added 10 points to put three Lions in double figures.
Page had 13 points and seven boards to give the Lions a 15-point cushion at the half. Columbia held a 22-point lead with 3:35 to play in the third quarter before Providence trimmed the lead down to 12 heading into the fourth quarter. The Lions answered back with a 12-0 run over the first 5:14 of the final period to take control and never looked back.
"I want to say thank you to our administration, our ticketing, our marketing for putting days like this together. I think this is such an important way to celebrate our community," eighth-year head coach Megan Griffith said during the postgame press conference. I think this is such a great way to unite [the Harlem community] and us, and show what sports can be for young people and how much it can teach you about life. I'm just really grateful that we got to put on this event again today."
The official attendance was 2,357 at Levien Gymnasium, all of whom made their presence felt from the opening tip. The energy boosted the Lions to their seventh win in their last eight tries against Big East Conference opponents, all of which have come in Griffith's coaching era.
"It was just feeling confident in myself. I've been in my head the past few weeks … you just gotta play free and play for your inner child and everything," Page said. "This was a great day because it was Education Day. We had so many fans, so many little kids out there. This is who I wanted to be when I was out there on the floor. I just had to channel my inner child and go out there and do it."
Columbia shot a season-best 41.2 percent from long range with a season-high 14 made threes (14-34). The Lions also took advantage of 16 Providence turnovers, turning them into 23 points and ending the game with a 16-3 advantage in transition.
Collins came out with a strong shooting performance in the first quarter, going a perfect 2-of-2 from three and 3-of-3 in field goals for eight early points. Hsu drained a triple 14 seconds into the game to electrify the young fans and scored six in the quarter. Despite that, the Lions led by just three with the Friars shooting 50 percent (7-14) in the period.
The Lions closed out the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 44-29 lead at the break. Page chipped in nine points in the second quarter as she made four of her last five field goals to end the half. Hsu added six points to help the Lions double up the Friars, 24-12, in the second quarter. Columbia used a flurry of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to extend its lead.
Nicole Stephens, Hsu and Page each converted from deep.
Columbia held Providence without a point for a span of 5:17 in the third quarter and used a 10-0 run during the Providence drought to build up a 22-point lead. The Friars managed to whittle it down to 12 but Columbia responded with its 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter to regain control. They led by as many as 27 in the final seconds.
Columbia continues its five-game homestand with another matchup against a Big East opponent on Sunday, hosting Villanova (4-1) at 2 p.m. ET.
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