NEW YORK — Columbia ended the game on a 12-2 run to survive and advance in the Postseason WNIT, defeating Fordham, 78-73, Monday night at Levien Gymnasium.
The highly entertaining, fast-paced, back-and-forth game featured 23 lead changes. Fordham (19-13, 10-6 A-10) led by five with under 2:30 to play, but Columbia (25-5, 12-2 Ivy) locked in to pull it off. Six straight points gave the Lions the lead entering the final minute. After the Rams answered with a second-chance bucket on the other end, head coach
Megan Griffith called for time with less than 30 seconds remaining and her team down by one.
Kaitlyn Davis got it done for Columbia. Off a baseline out-of-bounds play, the senior collected her own miss and was
fouled for an old-fashioned 3-point play on the putback. The Lions then got back-to-back stops on defense and made their free throws when it mattered most, moving on to the Super 16 of the WNIT for the second consecutive season.
"It was a great battle with two very experienced teams," said head coach
Megan Griffith, who was
recognized before the start of the game for becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history. "It was a fun game to coach in. I think it was a fun game for these guys to play in … Big-time players on both sides of the ball and it was a great game. We're looking forward to hosting Syracuse on Friday."
Just as the horn sounded, Griffith and her team learned they will be hosting Syracuse (20-12, 9-9 ACC) right back on Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. The Orange got by Seton Hall, 72-54, Monday night in New Jersey. Friday's matchup will mark the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
It took a lot of drama to get there. The Lions led by as many as eight in the first half and used a 7-0 run between the first two quarters to create the first bit of separation.
Abbey Hsu scored eight of her team-high 20 in the first period alone. She went on to finish 9-of-19 from the field with 12 rebounds to post her second collegiate double-double.
"Like Coach said, it was a fun game. We don't like to keep it that close but [Fordham] brought their game," said Hsu, who now has 1,442 career points and is just five behind Ula Lysniak (1983-87) for second on Columbia's all-time scoring list. "It's March and they are going to bring their best game at us. We responded really well and got stops down the stretch when it counted."
Fordham answered with a 9-0 run in the second quarter to regain the lead. The Rams were up a bucket, 33-31, at the break. Anna DeWolfe had 12 of her game-high 21. Despite both players reaching 20 points, Dewolfe and Asiah Dingle each shot just 9-for-25 from the field.
"We take pride in getting stops and playing fast," Hsu went on to say. "Not changing how we play, but trying to limit their scores at the same time."
After turning it over nine times in the first half, Columbia limited themselves to just five in the second. The two teams exploded for a combined 54 points in the third quarter. Hsu and
Hannah Pratt had eight apiece for the Lions, who tied it up entering the final 10 minutes.
Six more lead changes would ensue in the fourth quarter. Columbia trailed for most of it but showed the grit and experience to get it done at the end. Davis completed a 16-point, seven-rebound night with the game-winning 3-point play. She also had two assists, two steals and a block.
Jaida Patrick scored 18 on 6-of-11 shooting with seven boards and a full stat sheet. Pratt rounded out four in double figures with a dozen.
Columbia won the battle of the boards, 45-40, and outdueled the Rams, 15-8, in second-chance points. The Lions shot over 47 percent from the field (32-68) while keeping Fordham under 40 percent.
Tickets for Friday night's WNIT matchup against Syracuse can be purchased at
GoColumbiaLions.com/Tickets, or by calling the ticket office at 888-LIONS-11.
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