STOCKTON, Calif. –
Cecelia Collins scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Columbia women's basketball team to a seventh straight victory, defeating the University of the Pacific, 93-75, New Year's Eve Sunday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Columbia (9-4) dominated the first quarter and coasted to victory. After a few early lead changes, the Lions went on a 15-0 run to take a 22-9 lead. Pacific (8-5) burned two timeouts to no avail. Behind a spark from Collins, Columbia hit seven straight field goals and shot 63 percent in the frame to build a commanding 16-point advantage. A tip-in by
Noa Comesaña at the buzzer served as the exclamation point.
"We came out firing," said Collins, whose previous career-high was 23 as a freshman at Bucknell. "We ran the ball in transition. I feel like we got some easy ones and that kind of helped us build some confidence and build some momentum.
"Defensively, we got the stops we wanted but, at the same time, we thought there were a few quarters where we could have done better and held them closer to single-digit quarters. Overall, good win and we're happy leaving California 2-0."
After being held to 5-of-16 (.313) shooting over the first 10 minutes, the Tigers tried to hang around with a 23-point second quarter and 28-point third quarter. However, Columbia's potent offense proved to be too much. The lead never got back within double figures and the Lions found their defense again in the fourth to close out the calendar year on top.
"Coming out here, getting two road wins and ending 2023 on the right note – this team continues to prove to me that they are getting better every week," head coach
Megan Griffith said. "I thought [Collins] did a great job just keeping offense simple today. Credit to our players … for finding her. It was just great team basketball and it was really fun to watch today."
Collins topped a group of four Lions that scored in double figures.
Kitty Henderson and
Abbey Hsu scored 17 points apiece while sophomore
Susie Rafiu had 10 points off the bench. Henderson record her third career double-double and flirted with a triple-double, adding a game-high 10 rebounds and a season-high eight assists. Hsu had eight boards, three helpers and a block.
For Pacific, Elizabeth Elliott scored a team-high 15 points while Cecilia Holmberg and Anaya James had 14 apiece. James dished out a game-high nine assists and Holmberg grabbed a team-high seven boards.
The Lions will now prepare for the start of Ivy League play and the defense of their 2023 title. After flying back to New York on New Year's Day, they'll open the 2024 league schedule at home on Saturday, January 6, against Penn. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is slated for 2 p.m. ET.
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