Friday, March 17
7:00 P.M.
Columbia University
vs
FDU
Kaitlyn Davis is coming off a career-high 27-point performance in the Ivy League semifinals.
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Columbia’s WNIT Run Begins Friday Night in Levien
3/16/2023 5:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lions and Knights meet for the first time since 2016
NEW YORK – Columbia will make its second consecutive and second all-time appearance in the Postseason WNIT, hosting NEC Regular Season Champion Fairleigh Dickinson Friday night in the First Round. Tipoff from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets, or by calling 888-LIONS-11. Fans can also purchase tickets on-site at the ticket window, located at the main entrance on the southeast corner of 120th and Broadway.
GAME COVERAGE
Friday night's game will stream live on ESPN3 and the ESPN App. Fans wishing to access the game on ESPN3 will need to verify their TV provider in order to view it on their desktop or the ESPN app. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Live updates will be posted to the Columbia women's basketball team's Twitter account (@CULionsWBB).
WHAT TO KNOW
BATTLE OF CHAMPIONS
• Friday night's First Round WNIT matchup will feature Ivy League Regular Season Champion Columbia (23-5, 12-2) and NEC Regular Season Champion FDU (24-7, 14-2). Columbia's share of the Ivy League title was its first in program history. FDU won the NEC regular season for just the third time overall (2022, 1993). In last season's first game of the WNIT, Columbia took down Patriot League Regular Season Champion Holy Cross, 80-69, at Levien Gymnasium.
• After falling in the National Quarterfinals of last year's WNIT, Columbia is back looking to win its first postseason championship as a Div. I program. The last postseason title the Lions won came as a Div. III program in 1986, taking home the New York State AIAW Championship by defeating St. Lawrence, Rochester and New Rochelle in the title game. That year's team, which was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, went on to advance to the NCAA Div. III Regionals, earning a win against Buffalo State.
MILESTONE WATCH
• Head coach Megan Griffith enters the WNIT tied with Nancy Kalfaus (1984-91) for the most coaching victories in Columbia women's basketball history. Kalafus went 94-87 (.519) in seven seasons, which included the historic 1985-86 season that saw the Lions advance to the NCAA Div. III Regionals. Griffith, in her seventh year at the helm, enters Friday's game with a record of 94-76 (.553).
• Kaitlyn Davis (995) and Sienna Durr (990) are each within 10 points of scoring 1,000 for their Columbia careers. Davis is coming off a career-high 27-point performance in the Ivy League semifinal overtime loss against Harvard. There are currently 12 members of Columbia's 1,000-point club. Abbey Hsu was the most recent to join it, doing so earlier this season down in Miami against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 25).
NCAA LEADERS
• Columbia ranks Top 10 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (9.0), rebounds per game (43.18), rebound margin (+9.1) and assists per game (18.8). The Lions are also 11th in scoring margin (+16.9), 15th in offensive rebounds (15.0), and top 30 in 3-point field goal percentage (.356) and assist/turnover ratio (1.18). Abbey Hsu ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.32), No. 11 in total threes (93) and No. 28 in 3-point percentage (.406).
FIRST-TEAM HISTORY
• Abbey Hsu and Kaitlyn Davis were each unanimously voted First Team All-Ivy League, becoming the first pair of Lions to earn first-team honors in the same season in program history. Davis was also a first-team selection last year. Hsu is now a three-time All-Ivy honoree, being named to the second team in both 2019-20 and 2021-22. Jaida Patrick was named Second Team All-Ivy, picking up her first All-Ivy selection. Kitty Henderson was tabbed an Honorable Mention, while Carly Rivera was Academic All-Ivy League for the second year in a row.
• Columbia's last two games have gone to overtime, defeating Cornell, 69-64, in the regular season finale, but falling to Harvard, 72-65, in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinals. The last time the Lions played back-to-back overtime games was November 24 and 26, 2014, defeating URI, 79-69, and Bradley, 81-74, at Levien Gymnasium. The 2014 and 2023 instances are the only two times the Lions have played consecutive overtime games.
• Additionally, Columbia is meeting FDU for the first time in more than seven years. The all-time series, which is tied 8-8, was last contested on January 6, 2016, in a game that also went to overtime. The Lions prevailed, 87-83, behind a team-high 20 points from Emily Surloff, who drained 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets, or by calling 888-LIONS-11. Fans can also purchase tickets on-site at the ticket window, located at the main entrance on the southeast corner of 120th and Broadway.
GAME COVERAGE
Friday night's game will stream live on ESPN3 and the ESPN App. Fans wishing to access the game on ESPN3 will need to verify their TV provider in order to view it on their desktop or the ESPN app. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Live updates will be posted to the Columbia women's basketball team's Twitter account (@CULionsWBB).
WHAT TO KNOW
BATTLE OF CHAMPIONS
• Friday night's First Round WNIT matchup will feature Ivy League Regular Season Champion Columbia (23-5, 12-2) and NEC Regular Season Champion FDU (24-7, 14-2). Columbia's share of the Ivy League title was its first in program history. FDU won the NEC regular season for just the third time overall (2022, 1993). In last season's first game of the WNIT, Columbia took down Patriot League Regular Season Champion Holy Cross, 80-69, at Levien Gymnasium.
TITLE QUESTPurchase your official @CULionsWBB @IvyLeague championship t-shirt today!
— Columbia Athletics (@GoColumbiaLions) March 4, 2023
🛒https://t.co/i72EJK8Nxs#OnlyHere #RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/qLG7mjrr2T
• After falling in the National Quarterfinals of last year's WNIT, Columbia is back looking to win its first postseason championship as a Div. I program. The last postseason title the Lions won came as a Div. III program in 1986, taking home the New York State AIAW Championship by defeating St. Lawrence, Rochester and New Rochelle in the title game. That year's team, which was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, went on to advance to the NCAA Div. III Regionals, earning a win against Buffalo State.
MILESTONE WATCH
• Head coach Megan Griffith enters the WNIT tied with Nancy Kalfaus (1984-91) for the most coaching victories in Columbia women's basketball history. Kalafus went 94-87 (.519) in seven seasons, which included the historic 1985-86 season that saw the Lions advance to the NCAA Div. III Regionals. Griffith, in her seventh year at the helm, enters Friday's game with a record of 94-76 (.553).
• Kaitlyn Davis (995) and Sienna Durr (990) are each within 10 points of scoring 1,000 for their Columbia careers. Davis is coming off a career-high 27-point performance in the Ivy League semifinal overtime loss against Harvard. There are currently 12 members of Columbia's 1,000-point club. Abbey Hsu was the most recent to join it, doing so earlier this season down in Miami against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 25).
NCAA LEADERS
• Columbia ranks Top 10 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (9.0), rebounds per game (43.18), rebound margin (+9.1) and assists per game (18.8). The Lions are also 11th in scoring margin (+16.9), 15th in offensive rebounds (15.0), and top 30 in 3-point field goal percentage (.356) and assist/turnover ratio (1.18). Abbey Hsu ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.32), No. 11 in total threes (93) and No. 28 in 3-point percentage (.406).
FIRST-TEAM HISTORY
• Abbey Hsu and Kaitlyn Davis were each unanimously voted First Team All-Ivy League, becoming the first pair of Lions to earn first-team honors in the same season in program history. Davis was also a first-team selection last year. Hsu is now a three-time All-Ivy honoree, being named to the second team in both 2019-20 and 2021-22. Jaida Patrick was named Second Team All-Ivy, picking up her first All-Ivy selection. Kitty Henderson was tabbed an Honorable Mention, while Carly Rivera was Academic All-Ivy League for the second year in a row.
OVERTIME FUN FACTS🦄 Stat-Sheet Stuffer! 😤 Congratulations to Kaitlyn Davis on 🔙✌🏾🔙 First Team All-@IvyLeague Honors!
— Columbia Women's Basketball (@CULionsWBB) March 8, 2023
#️⃣2️⃣ ➡️ FG% (.523)
#️⃣3️⃣ ➡️ Rebounds (8.4)
Top 🔟
🔹 Assists (3.6)
🔹 Total Blocks (22)#RoarLionRoar // #EDGE 🦁 pic.twitter.com/q4D9z7qkT4
• Columbia's last two games have gone to overtime, defeating Cornell, 69-64, in the regular season finale, but falling to Harvard, 72-65, in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinals. The last time the Lions played back-to-back overtime games was November 24 and 26, 2014, defeating URI, 79-69, and Bradley, 81-74, at Levien Gymnasium. The 2014 and 2023 instances are the only two times the Lions have played consecutive overtime games.
• Additionally, Columbia is meeting FDU for the first time in more than seven years. The all-time series, which is tied 8-8, was last contested on January 6, 2016, in a game that also went to overtime. The Lions prevailed, 87-83, behind a team-high 20 points from Emily Surloff, who drained 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Players Mentioned
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