DURHAM, N.C. – Kitty Henderson scored a game-high 20 points and
Riley Weiss netted 17, but it wasn't enough for the Columbia women's basketball team to get by No. 13 Duke on Sunday afternoon. The Lions fell to the Blue Devils in their first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium, 77-61,
Despite a tough non-conference strength of schedule to this point, Columbia (6-3) was playing an AP Top 25 team for the first time this season. They came out of the gates going toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils (8-1), as the first six minutes featured six lead changes. However, Duke (8-1) used its size advantage to pull back ahead, ultimately outrebounding the Lions by 15 and scoring 52 points in the paint in the win.
"This is a perfect first-round matchup in March. You're going to play a team like this that's athletic, smart and can score on you in very different ways," Columbia head coach
Megan Griffith said. "For me, there's a growth opportunity from this."
Henderson's 20 points moved her past Griffith as one of Columbia's top 10 all-time scorers. The senior from Australia is now ninth with 1,074 career points. She added five boards, four assists and two steals on the afternoon.
Three-point shooting let the Lions down, hitting just 4-of-22 (.182). Duke didn't do a lot of damage from the perimeter but connected at over 52 percent from the field.
The Lions did force Duke into 23 turnovers, which was one off their season-high. Columbia scored 20 points off those turnovers but the Blue Devils were still able to edge the Lions in that category, scoring 22 off 21 Columbia miscues.
"I thought we pressured in the wrong moments sometimes," Griffith added. "I thought when we pressured and it was smart, we really frazzled them and forced a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers on their end."
A steal off a trap in the backcourt led to a Henderson trey and put Columbia ahead 7-4. The senior co-captain scored seven of her team's first 12 points and put up nine in the opening quarter.
Duke opened up a 22-13 lead courtesy of a 12-2 run, connecting on 10 of their first 16 field goal attempts. Reigan Richardson had seven in the opening 10 minutes. She ended with a team-high 19.
The Lions battled tough in the second quarter and had a stretch where they made four out of five field goals to get back within eight, 38-30. Unfortunately, the Blue Devils ended the half with the last five to go into the intermission ahead by 13.
Columbia trailed by as many as 18 in the third quarter but ultimately outscored Duke, 21-20, with a burst in the final minutes. Weiss and Henderson combined for 15 of Columbia's 21 points.
The Lions cut it to 10 early in the fourth but that would be as close as it got. Duke used an 8-0 run to open up a 20-point lead and ride out the rest of the game.
Columbia returns to New York for its last game of the 2024 calendar year, hosting San Francisco on Wednesday. The game will tip at 11 a.m. as the Lions invite local elementary school students for its annual Education Day game.
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