NEW YORK – Columbia women's basketball extended its winning streak to nine with a comfortable, 82-53, victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. Abbey Hsu led a group of four Lions (11-4, 2-0 Ivy) in double-figures with 20 points, 11 coming in the fourth quarter, and stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block.
Hsu etched her name even further into the Ivy League record books. Now with 1,834 career points, she has become one of the top 10 all-time scorers in Ivy League women's basketball history. Her triple at the 5:05 mark of the third quarter moved the Parkland, Florida native past Brown's Justine Gaziano (2016-20) and into sole possession of 10th place. Only three players in Ivy League history have ever reached 2,000.
"When you play with such a gifted player like Abbey, somebody that just draws so much attention and teams just game plan around her, you have to understand that the best way to beat that is to be threats around her," said head coach Megan Griffith during the postgame press conference. "I think our team has really started to understand that … Early on in the season, I think we were just relying on her a little bit with the newness of our team and people feeling each other out … It's been great to see our shot distribution."
Cornell (6-8, 0-2 Ivy) didn't always make it easy for Hsu on Saturday. The senior was limited to just four points in the first half before breaking through for 16 in the second. With the 3-ball not falling for most of the game, Hsu found other ways to score, getting to the foul line and being an open target in transition.
"I think not seeing the ball go in, it is frustrating, but I think the difference between me last year and the previous years was that I let that affect me completely throughout the whole game," Hsu said. "Just because the ball isn't going in doesn't mean I can't do things like rebound. It took me a little bit to turn that switch defensively, but then … [I found] different ways to get easier scores."
Adding to the game,
Kitty Henderson posted 15 points and matched her career-high of 11 rebounds while dishing out six assists and coming away with a career-high five steals. The double-double was her second of the season and the fourth of her career.
Riley Weiss and
Cecelia Collins added 10 points apiece. Collins, who has come on strong of late, added six boards and a season-high eight assists.
Columbia trailed for just 44 seconds and limited the Big Red to 32.7 percent shooting. Cornell had nine more turnovers (25) than made field goals (16) in the contest. The Lions outrebounded Cornell, 42-24, including 18-8 on the offensive end, leading to a 19-3 advantage in second-chance points. Columbia also blitzed the Big Red in transition, 32-4.
After a back-and-forth start, Columbia came up with back-to-back steals which led to four straight points from Henderson. A Hsu triple from the right wing extended the margin to 13-8 with 5:00 to go in the first quarter. Columbia led by four after the opening frame.
The second quarter featured a myriad of turnovers for both teams, but the Lions extended the lead at the break thanks to strong defense and a 12-2 edge on the glass. Columbia scored a couple of quick baskets to start the second, forcing Cornell to spend a timeout. Weiss was left wide open in the left corner to highlight a 12-0 Columbia run, putting the Lions in front, 29-13, with 6:26 remaining in the half.
The defense locked in down the stretch, holding the Big Red without a field goal during the final 2:35 of the period.
Susie Rafiu put the exclamation point on the half with a transition layup as time wound down to give Columbia a 37-26 edge at the intermission.
In the third quarter, the Lions opened things up with more lockdown defense, limiting the Big Red to 3-of-10 shooting in the period. Cornell was able to get to the foul line early to cut the deficit to nine before five-straight from Weiss restored order.
Fliss Henderson beat the buzzer with a strong take to the lane to make it 62-42 after 30 minutes and the Lions never looked back to pick up their fifth straight win in the series.
Columbia wraps up its Ivy League-opening three-game homestand against Yale (3-12, 0-2 Ivy) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on SNY and ESPN+.
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