Women's Basketball Introduces Incoming Class

Top Row (Left to Right): Calvo, Collins, Cooper, Henderson. Bottom Row: Montes, Sciolla, Tor, Weiss.

8/2/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Six first-years, two transfers set to join 2023-24 roster

NEW YORK – Eight new faces are set to join the defending Ivy League champion Columbia women's basketball program for the 2023-24 campaign, as announced by eighth-year head coach Megan Griffith on Wednesday. They include first-years Habti Calvo (Madrid, Spain), Liv Cooper (Columbus, Ohio), Fliss Henderson (Sydney, Australia), Emily Montes (Miami, Fla.), Blau Tor (Barcelona, Spain) and Riley Weiss (Hewlett, New York), as well as Bucknell transfer Cecelia Collins (Scranton, Pa.) and Maryland transfer Ava Sciolla (Fairless Hills, Pa.).

"We are thrilled to welcome eight newcomers to our Columbia women's basketball family," said Griffith, the program's all-time winningest coach." They will play an instrumental role in the next steps for this program while bringing a lot of excitement to Levien! Our fans will not want to miss their debuts this season."

Details on this season's incoming class are listed below. Fans can access the complete 2023-24 Columbia women's basketball roster by clicking this link.

Habti Calvo – 5-9 – G – Fr. – BC – Madrid, Spain / Humanitas Bilingual School
Columbia's three international newcomers will give them a total of seven international players on this year's roster. Calvo will be one of four from Spain, hailing from the capital of Madrid. She has competed on Spanish club teams since 2009, beginning with Club Baloncesto Pirates (2009-11) before moving on to Tres Cantos, Madrid (2011-17) and Movistar Estudiantes, Madrid (2017-23). In the Spanish playoffs this past season, Calvo averaged north of 27 minutes, 10 points, five rebounds and two assists to lead her team to their fourth silver medal in the past six campaigns – they took gold in 2019-20. On the international circuit, Calvo has represented Spain at the U16, U17 and U18 levels. Her U16 squad won the 2021 Women's European Challenger, held in Cadiz, Spain. The next year, she won silver with the U17 team at the Women's Basketball World Cup in Hungary.

Griffith on Calvo: "Habti brings invaluable experience from her time representing the Spanish national team. Her length, athleticism and versatility will translate immediately to the college level. She has a great feel for the game, understands concepts quickly and will be a force on defense."

Cecelia Collins – 6-0 – G – Jr. – CC – Scranton, Pa. / Scranton Prep / Bucknell
Collins comes to Columbia as a junior transfer from Bucknell, where she was a two-time Second Team All-Patriot League Selection, Patriot League All-Rookie Team member, All-Tournament Team member and a four-time Rookie of the Week. Last season, she landed on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays with a buzzer beater to send the game into overtime against Penn. She's coming off a season in which she averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33.3 minutes for the Bison. Collins entered Bucknell as a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Scranton Prep. The Classics went an unbeaten 52-0 in league play during her time there, including an undefeated 27-0 junior season. Collins was a four-time league and district champion, two-time all-state selection, an all-region selection and notched over 1,000 points in her high school career.

Griffith on Collins: "CeCe is a veteran guard who will make an immediate impact as a true scorer with elite passing abilities. Her competitiveness, coachability and experience will make for a seamless transition to our program. She will be able to play in various roles all over the court and will be a great addition to our junior class."

Liv Cooper – 6-0 – G/F – Fr. – CC – Columbus, Ohio / Pickerington Central
Cooper arrives in Morningside Heights from Pickerington Central, the same Ohio high school as senior Nicole Stephens. Positionally, the two are very different on the basketball court, as Cooper brings a 6-foot post presence to the frontcourt. She is a four-year letterwinner and two-time all-district selection, which includes first team honors as a senior in 2022-23. That year, she also was an all-state honorable mention and Ohio Capital Conference (OCC) Buckeye First Team honoree. Cooper's most memorable sports moment came when Pickerington Central took down Dublin Coffman in the regional semifinals just a few months ago. She played on the club circuit for Ohio United 17U.

Griffith on Cooper: "Liv joins us from the same high school as senior Nicole Stephens. She has developed as a dynamic player in a rich basketball culture and knows how to win at a high level. She is a two-way competitor who brings toughness, IQ and decision-making abilities, which are key components to our style of play at her position."

Fliss Henderson – 5-11 – G/F – Fr. – CC – Sydney, Australia / St. Luke's Grammar
As Columbia basketball fans may have guessed, Fliss Henderson is the sister of current junior Kitty Henderson. She arrives in Morningside Heights from the Sydney suburb or North Curl Curl, Australia after competing for five years on the St. Luke's Grammar School basketball team. The multi-sport athlete also competed for five years in swimming, three in cross country and four in netball. Henderson made the New South Wales All-Schools (All-State) Team in 2023, winning the championship and also being named to the All-Australian Merit Team (top 10 players in the tournament). She was an All-Schools selection five times who also made the Australian U19 squad in 2022. This past year, she averaged 10.9 points, 4.4 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game. On the club circuit, she competes for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, moving up to the NBL1 team for the current campaign.

Griffith on Henderson: "Fliss is now the second Australian to join our family. She is a confident and poised decision-maker. Her size, strength and versatility allow her to affect the game in multiple ways and at multiple positions. Her maturity as a basketball player is way beyond her years. She will be fun to watch alongside older sister Kitty."

Emily Montes – 5-10 – G – Fr. – BC – Miami, Fla. / Palmer Trinity School
A seven-year varsity basketball player and five-year track athlete at Palmer Trinity School in South Florida, Emily Montes will look to make a name for herself in the Lions' backcourt. She graduated Palmer Trinity as the Falcons' all-time leader in points, rebounds, steals and assists, while ranking second in school history in blocks. This past season, she averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and 1.2 blocks per game, ending her career with more than 2,000 points. The five-year captain earned First Team All-Dade honors in both 2022 and 2023 and was a four-time all-district selection. Montes was also named to the 2022 Jr. Orange Bowl All-Tournament Team and was the MVP of the 2022 Ransom Christmas Tournament. She played on the club circuit for Team Knight of the Adidas 3-Stripe Select Basketball circuit (3SSB).

Griffith on Montes: "Emily continues our pipeline of South Florida recruits. She's a true playmaker with an elite work ethic; she is able to create for herself and others and thrives in an uptempo system. She is a true combo guard who will play on and off the ball. Emily will also be a prominent culture driver for us as we usher in this new era."

Ava Sciolla – 6-0 – G – So. – CC – Fairless Hills, Pa. / Pennsbury / Maryland
Sciolla transfers to Columbia from Maryland, where she saw action in 16 games as a freshman for a Terrapins team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2023. She appeared in all four NCAA Tournament games, which included playing seven minutes and scoring in the First-Round victory over Holy Cross. Prior to Maryland, Sciolla was a four-time First Team All-League, two-time First Team All-State and the Maryland 6A Player of the Year in 2022 at Pennsbury High School. Adding to her 2022 high school honors were being named both the Markwood Suburban and Markwood Player of the Year. She was the fastest boys or girls player in Pennsbury history to reach 1,000 points when she did so as a junior in 2021. Sciolla went on to score 1,600 points in her high school career and also graduated with the most 3-pointers in Pennsbury history. In addition to basketball at Pennsbury, Sciolla starred for three years in volleyball.

Griffith on Sciolla: "Ava is a playmaking sharpshooter who has grown up in a basketball environment. She is an elite thinker of the game, a proven winner and a leader. Her skill set paired with her IQ make for a dangerous combination; she makes her teammates better. She will thrive playing in our system and complement our sophomore class."

Blau Tor – 6-0 – G/F – Fr. – BC – Barcelona, Spain / INS Joaquim Blume
A 6-foot tweener from Barcelona, Spain, Blau Tor comes to Columbia with 11 years of playing experience between five different clubs from 2013-23. She began with Palcam School (2013-14), before moving on to Gaudi (2014-16), CEJ Hospitalet (2016-17) and Barca (2017-19), before her final move to Segle XXI (2019-23). With Segle XXI, Tor won the regular season three times in four years. At her previous stops, Tor won two championships with Barca and placed second (2017-18) and third (2018-19) in the Spanish Championship. She also has experience competing on the international circuit, representing Spain at the U14, U15, U16, U17 and U18 levels. She helped her U16 team to the FIBA Women's European Basketball Championship and was runner-up at the U17 FIBA Women's World Cup in Hungary in 2022. Aside from basketball, Tor also competed in tennis for seven years, golf for three years and skiing for eight.

Griffith on Tor: "Blau brings similar national team experience as Habti. They both have been immersed in an elite training environment with the Spanish national team. Her work ethic, toughness and versatility will add depth to our guard/forward position. She is a threat on both ends of the floor and will stuff a stat sheet in our fast-paced style."

Riley Weiss – 5-10 – G – Fr. – CC – Hewlett, N.Y. / GW Hewlett (N.Y.) & North Broward Prep (Fla.)
A six-year standout in girls varsity basketball, Riley Weiss claims the Long Island hamlet of Hewlett in the town of Hampstead as home. She began her varsity playing days at George W Hewlett High School, where she left after her junior year as the all-time leading scorer in school history, netting more than 2,000 from seventh to 11th grade. The four-year captain was also a four-time all-county, two-time All-Long Island and 2021-22 New York All-State Team selection. That year, Weiss was also both the conference and Nassau County Player of the Year, averaging 40.8 points per game as a sophomore and 39.9 points per game as a junior. Weiss then transferred to North Broward Prep in South Florida for her senior year, where she broke seven school records, won a district championship and was named both the North Broward Prep Newcomer of the Year and the Michael Freedman Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year. In her combined high school career, Weiss scored 2,906 career points, which included five 50-plus-point games.

Griffith on Weiss: "Riley is our next New York native to join the program. She is an elite three-level scorer with a next-level understanding of the game. Her IQ, passing and ability to stretch the floor will impact our program immediately. She is a selfless competitor who makes big plays, thinks ahead and is a great teammate."

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