By Matt Sugam, contributor for GoColumbiaLions.com
NEW YORK — Columbia notched a program-record 26th win and overcame a first-half deficit to defeat Syracuse, 88-82, in the Super 16 of the WNIT Friday night at Levien Gymnasium.
Columbia (26-5) forced a shot clock violation with 1:37 remaining holding onto an 81-78 lead. The crowd of over 1,500 rose to its feet before
Abbey Hsu found a cutting
Kitty Henderson, who scored the layup through contact with just over a minute to go.
Kaitlyn Davis hit a jumper with 29.9 to put things away for the Lions in a game that featured 11 lead changes and six ties.
All five starters scored in double figures for Columbia.
Abbey Hsu led the way with a team-high 21 points, while fellow First Team All-Ivy teammate
Kaitlyn Davis went for 17 points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Hannah Pratt's 16 came on 6-of-10 shooting and 3-of-6 from the perimeter.
Jaida Patrick and
Kitty Henderson scored 13 apiece.
"This just goes to show the depth of our team when we need it," head coach
Megan Griffith '07CC said. "It's largely about how we're operating as a unit."
Columbia extended its winning streak against ACC opponents to four consecutive games. Earlier this year, they won the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament with a 78-71 win over the Elite 8-bound Hurricanes. One year ago to the day, they came back from 17 down to stun Boston College in the Super 16 of the 2022 WNIT, 54-51. They also defeated Clemson earlier that same season on the road.
After Columbia trailed 18-11, Hsu ended the first quarter with three 3-pointers in a row to cut the Syracuse (20-13, 9-9 ACC) lead to 21-20.
"I missed my first couple but with this team, there's always going to be confidence to keep shooting no matter what," Hsu said. "So that's what I did. And they started to fall. Thankfully it happened at the time that we needed it."
With five threes on the night, Hsu upped her season total to 104 and is now just four off the Ivy League record of 108 that she set last season. She is the only player in league history to ever make 100 or more in a season.
Additionally, Hsu passed Ula Lysniak '87BC for second on Columbia's all-time scoring list. She'll enter Sunday's game with 1,463 career points and a whole season to chase down Camille Zimmerman '18CC's record (1,973).
Columbia quickly retook the lead on a bucket by Davis before a back-and-forth second quarter. After Syracuse went on a quick run late,
Kitty Henderson responded with a basket to close the half and Columbia trailed 45-41.
"That's a really talented team. They put up a lot of points," coach
Megan Griffith '07CC said. "I think we gave our fans all their money's worth today. A lot of fun. It was a great environment to play in today."
The Lions came roaring out of halftime scoring 10 unanswered with a 14-4 run, resulting in an Orange timeout with 7:10 to go in the third quarter and Columbia back on top, 55-48. The lead would balloon to 12 on a 3-pointer by Patrick with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter before Columbia took a 69-65 lead into the fourth.
"This season, our team has been able to explode in two to three-minute increments. I like to call it our two-minute drill kind of like football," Griffith said. "What we call our hurry-up offense. But a lot of it starts with the stops that we got."
Syracuse would cut Columbia's lead to 77-76 midway through the fourth quarter, but it was the closest the Orange would get. Davis would answer with a jumper on the ensuing possession as the Lions would fend off their ACC opponent for the game's final moments.
Columbia will host a rematch with Harvard in the Great Eight of the WNIT on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. on Schiller Court inside Levien Gymnasium. After winning a share of the Ivy League Title for the first time in school history, the Lions had a heartbreaking loss to the Crimson in the Ancient Eight Tournament semifinals.
"I'm expecting to get Harvard's best, just like I would hope they expect that they're going to get our best," Griffith said. "But I'm really looking forward to that matchup. I've been hoping this would happen since the WNIT Tournament started."
Tickets for the game can be purchased here. The game will also air nationally on
ESPN 3.
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Matt Sugam '23 SPS has been covering sports in the NY metropolitan area for over a decade. He has spent the last nine years covering college and professional sports as a stringer for the Associated Press and contributing to The New York Times, USA Today Network, NJ.com, and SNY.tv. He's covering Lions Athletics for gocolumbialions.com while pursuing an M.S. in Strategic Communication at Columbia SPS. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Visit his website at www.mattsugam.com
