NEW YORK – Columbia women's basketball and head coach Megan Griffith '07CC announced the program's 2023-24 schedule on Monday. The challenging non-conference slate features eight home games, six games against opponents from the power six conferences, four games against teams that finished inside the NET top 50 last year, three 2023 NCAA Tournament teams and two home games against Duke and Villanova, both of which finished inside the Top 25 polls last year.
Columbia is no stranger to a tough schedule. Last year, despite a non-conference schedule in which they faced seven 20-win teams from the year prior, the Lions went a program-best 28-6. The 2022-23 team went 11-2 against its non-conference gauntlet before going 12-2 in the Ivy League to win their first Ivy League Championship. After just missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Columbia made the deepest run in the WNIT of any team in Ivy League history, defeating FDU, Fordham, Syracuse and Harvard to reach the Fab Four. Griffith's Lions took down a 31-win Bowling Green squad on the road to make it to the title game, coming up just short against Kansas inside a packed Allen Fieldhouse.
While last year's team returned nearly the entire roster from the year prior, this year's version of the Lions will look completely different. Seven seniors from the 2023 Ivy Championship Team have now moved on and eight new faces will look to fill the void left behind.
The season gets underway with a rare non-conference road game on Monday, November 6, at Stony Brook. This marks the second straight year the Lions will visit the Seawolves and the third consecutive season the two teams are going head-to-head. Four days later, the first of eight non-conference home games takes place when Seton Hall visits Levien Gymnasium for Columbia's home opener. The Lions avenged losses against both Stony Brook and Seton Hall from the 2021-22 season by defeating both the Seawolves and Pirates last year on the road.
Columbia and Duke square off the first time on Tuesday, November 14, at 6 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils went 26-7, 14-4 ACC last year, finishing No. 13 in the final AP Poll and No. 16 in the final Coaches Poll. They advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, where they were upset by Colorado in overtime, 61-53.
After a first-time matchup with Towson (Nov. 16) in NYC, Columbia heads to the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship Nov. 20-22. The Lions will have two opportunities to defeat an SEC opponent, beginning with 2023 NCAA Tournament participant Georgia on Monday, November 20. Two days later, they'll battle Florida, a team that advanced to the Great Eight of last year's WNIT before falling to Bowling Green.
The Lions return to Morningside Heights for the next five games, which begin with games against 2023 CAA co-champion Northeastern (Nov 25) and an Education Day tip at 11 a.m. against Providence (Nov. 29). Columbia then welcomes Big East powerhouse Villanova to Levien Gymnasium (Dec. 3). It'll be the first time the two teams have met in 20 years and Villanova's first visit to Columbia's campus. Last year, the Wildcats went 30-7, 17-3 BIG EAST, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. They finished No. 10 in the final AP Poll before the NCAA Tournament and No. 12 in the final Coaches Poll.
Home games against Memphis (Dec. 6) and Wagner (Dec. 10) bring the Lions into exams break. After two weeks away from competition, they'll flly across the country to conclude the non-conference season in the Bay Area against San Francisco (Dec. 28) and Pacific (Dec. 31).
The Ivy League season begins a week later this season and sees Columbia start with three straight at home against Penn (Jan. 6), Cornell (Jan. 13) and Yale (Jan. 15) on MLK Day. The first of two showdowns between last year's Ivy League co-champions is set for Saturday, January 20, when the Lions visit Princeton.
After concluding the season series at Penn (Jan. 27), Columbia plays a string of three more games at home against Harvard (Feb. 2), Dartmouth (Feb. 3) and Brown (Feb. 9). The following weekend will be a back-to-back on the road against Dartmouth (Feb. 16) and Harvard (Feb. 17).
Columbia's home finale will serve as Round 2 between last year's co-champions. It will also serve as Senior Day for the graduating class of Abbey Hsu, Paige Lauder, Mary Lobon and Nicole Stephens. The regular season concludes with back-to-back weekends on the road against Brown (Mar. 1), Yale (Mar. 2) and Cornell (Mar. 9).
The 2024 Ivy League Basketball Tournaments will be held inside Columbia's home Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. The women's semifinals are scheduled for Friday, March 15, followed by the tournament championship game on Saturday, March 16.
Columbia's broadcast schedule will be announced once it has been finalized. All home and Ivy League games will be available on ESPN+, or the ESPN family of networks.
Season tickets go on sale September 6.
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
