NEW YORK – Abbey Hsu connected on a game-winning three-point play with 8.7 seconds remaining and the Columbia women's basketball team held on to earn a thrilling, 77-75, victory over Villanova on Sunday from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
The victory was Columbia's (5-4) third in as many games against a Big East opponent this season, also defeating Seton Hall (Nov. 10) and Providence (Nov. 29). The Lions are now 8-1 against the Big East Conference over the last eight years under head coach Megan Griffith.
"I have a ton of respect for the Big East – I know a lot of those coaches really well – but … if we were in the Big East, I think we would be one of the best teams in the Big East," said Griffith during her postgame press conference. "Honestly, that's just me being honest and direct … I don't see us as a mid-major team. I see us as a Power Five team, just like Villanova sees themselves as a Power Five team. We are going to go out and schedule great teams every year because that's what is going to prepare us for our Ivy gauntlet. That's the bigger goal, right, is that we have to be playing great in March."
The Lions found themselves trailing by two points with 13.0 seconds remaining. Hsu converted the and-1 from a perfectly executed play out of a timeout, receiving a beautifully anticipated back-door pass from Cecelia Collins, driving down the lane for the bucket and getting fouled in the process. Her free throw put the Lions on top, 76-75.
"It was one of those plays where even if they know it's coming to me you still have to stay poised," said Hsu, who scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half. "Cece delivered a beautiful pass in the perfect place. There were a lot of things that led up to that moment and we executed."
Villanova (5-2) had a chance to answer but the defense came up big.
Kitty Henderson stood tall in the paint and blocked the potential go-ahead shot before diving on the loose-ball rebound. The referee signaled for a jump ball and the possession arrow was pointing to Columbia. Henderson got to the foul line with 2.1 ticks left to increase the lead to two.
The Wildcats had one last opportunity but were without a timeout and had to go the length of the court. That opportunity never came to fruition, as Hsu poked the ball away from Lucy Olsen, sending it out of bounds as the final horn sounded.
"That was huge for me on the defensive side," Hsu said. "This was huge redemption for me from Florida a couple of weeks ago to take it personally and lock in to get a stop."
Hsu led the team in scoring with 22 points and matched fellow senior
Nicole Stephens on the glass with nine rebounds.
Kitty Henderson had 18 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, along with six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
Riley Weiss shot a scorching 5-of-7 from the 3-point line en route to scoring 17 points.
Cecelia Collins rounded out the group in double figures with 11.
Olsen led the Wildcats with a game-high 33 on 12-of-20 shooting. She entered the contest averaging a Big East-leading 24.8 points per game, which was also third-best in all of the NCAA. Maddie Burke joined her in double figures with 16, going 4-for-8 from long range.
The two teams met for the first time in nearly two decades and it did not disappoint the crowd of over 1,000 that showed up to see it. Villanova showed its prowess on the glass with an 11-5 advantage early on to take the initial lead. Hsu's five points helped keep Columbia within range, trailing 18-12 entering the second quarter.
The Lions began to find their offensive rhythm and held Villanova to just 29 percent shooting in the second quarter.
Riley Weiss drained a 3-pointer just 12 seconds into the period and stole the ball on the next play to find Henderson for a layup. A big and-1 bucket from Stephens shifted the momentum further in Columbia's favor. The Lions took their first lead since the opening minute with 5:30 before halftime on a
Paige Lauder bucket off another nice pass into the post from Stephens. They maintained a two-point lead, 31-29, at the break.
Columbia took its largest lead of the game with 2:20 left in the third quarter after a steal from Henderson, who found Weiss for a triple that brought the score to 51-43. Hsu started the fourth with a floater and the foul for an old-fashioned three-point play.
In the blink of an eye, Villanova fought back, going on a 7-0 run that took less than a minute to tie the game at 65-65. It forced Columbia to call for time with 4:09 to go.
It was game on from there. The two sides exchanged buckets with neither leading by more than a single possession the rest of the way. Villanova went up by as many as three, 74-71, following a pair of Olsen free throws at the 1:25 mark. Columbia answered on a stick-back by Stephens flying down the lane to grab a miss by Collins. Runyan went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 13 seconds to go before the Lions called for time and drew up the dramatic finish.
Columbia will look to make it four-straight wins on its homestand to close out the semester on Wednesday, hosting Memphis (3-5) at 7 p.m. ET.
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