By: Matt Sugam, contributor for GoColumbiaLions.com
NEW YORK — As soon as the WNIT bracket was released, Columbia women's basketball saw another potential stop added to their revenge tour. After Harvard handed the Lions a loss at Ivy Madness, they hoped for a chance to get another crack at the Crimson.
Wish granted.
Columbia (27-5) avenged that loss, going up 20 early in the fourth quarter and holding off Harvard's (20-12) rally, 77-71, ending the Crimson's season and advancing to the "Fab Four" of the WNIT.
"That's a great Harvard team that we were just excited to get another shot at them. It felt like the basketball gods saying this was meant to happen," head coach
Megan Griffith '07CC said. "We'll take that revenge and we're ready for the Fab Four, so here we come."
Kaitlyn Davis had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high six assists and two blocks.
Kitty Henderson had 15 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
"I think I can speak for the whole team – this one felt really good," Henderson said. "We've been looking at this ever since we lost because we saw the matchups coming."
The Lions are now headed to the semifinals of the WNIT for the first time in school history. They are also the first team in Ivy League history to advance this far in the tournament.
On a picturesque spring day in Manhattan, nearly 2,000 fans packed into Levien Gymnasium on less than two days' notice to potentially witness more history. It's the new norm under the guidance of Griffith.
"If you build it, they will come," Griffith said, before adding, "It's something that everybody's proud of and talks about. Sports is the only thing in the world that can bring people together the way that it does and I think we're seeing that happen on our campus right now and I'm extremely proud of that. Again, huge credit to all the people that are involved in this program."
A first half dominated by defense saw the Lions in front, 27-23. That gave way to a third-quarter offensive explosion, as Columbia scored its most points in a quarter of the entire season. Two minutes in, Patrick stuffed a Crimson player and
Kitty Henderson scored a layup on the ensuing position to make it 34-25.
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Patrick gave Columbia its first double-digit lead at 39-27. Harvard called for time midway through the run at 45-32 and was met by a standing ovation from the Lions' faithful.
Davis capped off a frenzied last minute of scoring for Columbia with another old-fashioned 3-point play. Entering the final quarter, the Lions held a commanding 61-43 lead. They went 14-of-19 from the field to put up 34 points, their most in a quarter all season.
"That was pure Columbia basketball. We just got out and ran. We played good defense and we made stops to scores," Henderson said, adding, "We just had fun. Third quarter was literally just us having fun."
The jovial gym would quickly turn into a bandbox of agita.
After facing a 20-point deficit early in the fourth, Harvard went on a 16-3 run to cut Columbia's lead to five. A 3-pointer by McKenzie Forbes at the 3:27 mark had Columbia clinging to a 68-66 lead.
"They said to me in the locker room that they got bored," the 37-year-old Griffith said. "I was getting too calm, so they wanted to get my blood pressure up and add gray hairs."
A Henderson layup made it a two-possession game before Davis' pair of free throws gave Columbia the 72-66 lead with 1:27 remaining.
"It was fine," Davis cracked.
"We always expect that," Henderson quipped. "We like to keep games close."
Abbey Hsu finished with 12 points while
Jaida Patrick had 10 points, a steal, and a block.
Sienna Durr and
Hannah Pratt had eight points apiece, while
Paige Lauder chipped in with seven.
"Paige and Sienna have been really consistent in what they can provide us off the bench," said Griffith. "I'm just really proud of those two for playing their roles really well."
Already with a program-record 27 wins and their first Ivy League title in school history, the Lions are hungry to end a season with another championship.
Columbia will now play either Florida or Bowling Green in the semifinal of the WNIT on Wednesday. The game between the Gators and Falcons takes place Monday night at 6 p.m. ET. The Lions will find out if they are hosting or traveling sometime on Monday.
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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
