SAN FRANCISCO – Abbey Hsu scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Columbia women's basketball team to its sixth straight win, defeating San Francisco, 74-67, Thursday night from War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center.
 
Columbia (8-4), which was playing its first game in 18 days, led the entire first half but faced a 10-point deficit with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter. Hsu and the Lions answered with the final seven points entering the fourth and completed a 9-0 run 11 seconds later to make it a one-point affair.
 
Columbia retook the lead when Cecelia Collins assisted back-to-back buckets by Perri Page. After San Francisco (3-9) tied things back up at 66, the Lions took over. Kitty Henderson found Hsu on a back-door cut at the 3:12 mark, which gave Columbia the lead back for good. The Lions outscored the Dons, 8-1 down the stretch, holding the home team without a field goal over the final 4:45 to grind out the victory.
 
"Credit to them. I think USF did a great job protecting their home court," eighth-year head coach Megan Griffith said. "Their kids showed up to play. I keep telling our team that we are going to get the other team's best … This is a team that scraps. They were physical one through five against our one through five. I thought that, in moments, we handled that really well … and I was really proud of the way we fought back."
 
Hsu's 31 points came on 12-of-19 shooting. In doing so, she upped her career scoring total to 1,783, passing Columbia basketball greats Maodo Lo (2012-16), Jim McMillian (1967-70) and Buck Jenkins (1989-93) for sole second in school history (men's or women's). Hsu is now 190 points from Camille Zimmerman's program record 1,973.
 
"I think we expected to knock off some rust during the game," said Hsu. "We fought hard to come back and execute down the stretch, which I'm really proud of … I think hitting those first few shots gave me confidence going into the rest of the game. My teammates, like I always say, get me open and get me open shots." Hsu was the lone Lion to threaten from 3-point range, going 3-for-7 on a night in which Columbia struggled at 4-for-27 (.148). Meanwhile, USF scorched the nets from the outside, hitting 10-for-22 (.455), including a 6-for-8 showing from Freja Werth. The junior transfer from UAlbany ended the game with 20 points, as did Debora dos Santos (10-18 FG). dos Santos completed her WCC-leading seventh double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Columbia and Hsu were red-hot to start the night, leading 16-10 when the Dons called for time at the first quarter's 6:04 mark. Hsu had 10 of those points, starting the game 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 from the outside.
 
USF trimmed an eight-point Columbia lead down to two by the end of the quarter with two triples by Werth. The Dons pulled within a point two different times in the second but the Lions never relinquished the lead, taking a 40-37 advantage into the break.
 
All six ties and four lead changes took place in the second half. The Dons took their first lead on a Werth trey at the 6:53 mark of the third quarter. Aya Keita scored all seven of her points on the night during a 9-0 run that gave San Francisco its largest lead, 57-47. A pretty step-back three by Hsu at the horn completed a 7-0 burst to pull the Lions right back within a single possession.
 
It was game-on in the fourth but the Lions proved better down the stretch to secure their first road win of the season.
 
Columbia will head to Stockton for a New Year's Eve showdown against Pacific (8-4). Opening tip on Sunday at the Spanos Center is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.
 
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