NEW YORK – Columbia (27-5) and Bowling Green (31-6) will meet for the first time when the two sides square off in the Fab Four of the 2023 Postseason WNIT on Wednesday. Tipoff from the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Wednesday's winner will advance to meet the winner of the other semifinal between Kansas (23-11) and Washington (19-14) in the WNIT Championship Game. The final will take place Saturday, April 1, at 5:30 p.m. ET. The location of the game will be determined Wednesday night.
WATCH PARTY
Columbia Athletics is pleased to announce a watch party in Levien Gymnasium for the women's basketball game at Bowling Green. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Entry to Levien Gymnasium will be from the fourth floor of the Dodge Fitness Center. The entrance at 120th & Broadway will not be open.
RSVP is required. Please click here to RSVP.
GAME COVERAGE
Wednesday's game will air on
ESPN3. 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 available courtesy of BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can also follow @CULionsWBB on
Twitter and
Instagram for content through the weekend, including live in-game updates.
TICKETS
Fans who are planning to make the trip to Bowling Green can
click here to purchase tickets. The box office can also be reached at 419-372-0000. Tickets can also be purchased on-site at the game.
WHAT TO KNOW:
THE ROAD TO THE FAB FOUR
• Columbia is the first team in Ivy League history to reach this stage of the tournament. Last season, the Lions were the first Ivy team to reach the national quarterfinals, where they fell to Seton Hall. This year, they surpassed that stage by taking down NEC Regular Season Champion FDU in the First Round, Fordham in the Second Round, Syracuse in the Super 16 and Harvard, 77-71, on Sunday at Levien Gymnasium in the Great Eight.
FROM ANCIENT TO GREAT EIGHT
• Columbia and Harvard met in the Great Eight of the WNIT, marking the first time in Ivy League women's basketball history that two of its teams played against each other in a national tournament. Columbia came out on top, 77-71, becoming the first Ivy team to advance to the National Semifinals of the WNIT. The only other known occasion of two Ivy basketball teams competing in a national tournament came when the Columbia men faced off against Yale in the quarterfinals of the 2014 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
ROAD WARRIORS
• Columbia is 13-2 in true road games this season. Last year, the Lions went 12-1. Going back to the 2019-20 season, the Lions are 29-3 in their last 32 true road games. With 13 road victories this season, Columbia entered the postseason tied with No. 1 South Carolina (13-0), No. 10 Villanova (13-1), Florida Gulf Coast (13-1) and Bowling Green (13-3) for the most road wins in the country.
IF THE HSU FITS…
•
Abbey Hsu ranks second in the country in 3-pointers made per game (3.28), sixth in total threes (105) and is among the top 50 in 3-point percentage (.383).
• Hsu ranks No. 3 among active Div. I players in career 3-pointers made per game (3.05), trailing only highly decorated All-Americans Taylor Robertson of Oklahoma (3.56) and Caitlin Clark of Iowa (3.41).
• Hsu passed Ula Lysniak '87BC (1983-87) for second on Columbia's all-time scoring list in Friday night's win against Syracuse. Lysniak, who was the program's all-time leader until 2017, ended her career with 1,447 points. Hsu now stands at 1,475 and will have a full senior season to chase down Camille Zimmerman '18CC's record of 1,973.
• Hsu's 105 triples this season are second to her Ivy League record of 108 that she made last season. The junior from Parkland, Florida is the only player in Ivy League history to ever make 100 or more in a season.
BRING ON THE ACC
• Columbia defeated Syracuse, 88-82, in the Super 16 of the WNIT. In doing so, they increased their winning streak against ACC opponents to four games. Earlier this year, they beat Miami, 78-71, to win the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament. The Hurricanes went on to advance to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Lions came back from 17 points down to take down Boston College in the WNIT. Earlier that year, they defeated Clemson on the road. Columbia is 5-1 in their last six games against the conference.
• Now with wins over Seton Hall, Miami and Syracuse this season, as well as victories over Clemson, Georgetown and Boston College last season, Columbia is 10-10 in its last 20 games against power-conference opponents (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, SEC, Pac 12). The span began in 2016 with an overtime win over Providence. The Lions opened the 2017-18 season by defeating the Friars on the road, 73-64. The Lions also earned their first ACC win that year when they defeated Boston College, 68-60, on Education Day.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT:
• The Falcons reached the Fab Four with victories against Liberty, Green Bay, Memphis and Florida. Three of their four WNIT victories came at home with the lone road win coming at Green Bay, 69-51.
• BGSU is appearing in the postseason WNIT for the eighth time in program history, and the second time in three years. The Falcons enter the Columbia game with an all-time record of 12-8 in the tourney.
• The Falcons' 69-53 win over Florida on Monday night was BGSU's 31st victory of the season, tying the school record as well as the Mid-American Conference mark. The only other MAC squad to win 31 games was the 2006-07 Falcon team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Championships.
• Wednesday's game will mark the first all-time matchup between the two programs.
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.
