NEW YORK –
Abbey Hsu poured in a game-high 26 points to help lead the Columbia women's basketball team to its first win over a Top 25 team in program history, 67-65, over No. 25 Princeton on Saturday afternoon from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
The lead-up to the game could not have been scripted better in Hollywood. It was senior night for Hsu, the all-time scoring leader in Columbia men's or women's basketball history. The game had been sold out since Tuesday, Hsu needed 11 points to reach 2,000, the Lions needed to win to have any chance at repeating as Ivy League champions, Princeton was on a 15-game winning streak, Columbia was riding a program-record 12 straight home wins, and to top it off, the Tigers came in ranked No. 25 by the Associated Press.
And in the end, everything worked out for Columbia.
Sixteen of Hsu's 26 points came in the second half, including 13 in a third quarter that saw the Lions build a 10-point lead. Her trey at the 6:31 mark of the third quarter, the 355th of her illustrious career, pushed her career scoring total over 2,000, becoming the fourth player in Ivy League women's basketball history to reach that territory.
Columbia (19-5, 10-1 Ivy) took its largest lead of the afternoon, 64-53, on another Hsu triple at the 5:17 mark of the fourth quarter. Princeton (20-4, 10-1 Ivy) would not go down quietly, storming back with a 12-2 run that made it a one-point game with 53 seconds to go.
The Lions went up by two when
Fliss Henderson made 1-of-2 at the foul line. Princeton called for time, ran the clock down and tried to send the game to overtime. However, a runner by Kaitlyn Chen didn't even draw iron, falling to the floor and creating a dogpile for the rebound. Before either team came up with it, time expired.
"It means so much," said Hsu during her
postgame interview with Lance Medow. "I'm just so proud of our team. We really came together and put together a full 40 minutes. I'm just so proud and so happy to play with this group of people, in front of these fans, it's just so surreal. The job is not finished yet and we are not satisfied but it's definitely a great win."
Since joining the Division I ranks in 1986-87, Columbia was 0-12 all-time against AP Top 25 opponents. They can now check off another first, for which there have been several of in the
Megan Griffith coaching era.
"I told [our seniors], 'I hope you took a moment to just soak it in a look around at what you've built,'" said Griffith with the opening remarks of her
postgame press conference. "There is no environment in our league like this – there's not even a lot of mid-major environments in the country like this – and to have the support of our community, our families, you all, the media, and the people that are just really bought into this program. It's because of people [like our seniors]. I could not be more proud of them for how they represent not only Columbia Athletics and Columbia women's basketball but the university and what it stands for and the values that we hold here at Columbia."
As part of Senior Day, the senior class of
Abbey Hsu,
Paige Lauder and
Nicole Stephens were all honored in a pregame ceremony.
Cecelia Collins and
Kitty Henderson added to the winning tally, both reaching double figures in the scoring column. Collins registered 14 points to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Henderson scored 11 and pulled in eight boards.
For Princeton, Chet Nweke scored a team-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Senior Ellie Mitchell had nine points and a game-high 18 rebounds, tacking on five assists. Chen finished with 14 points, eight assists, two steals and a block.
Cecelia Collins scored back-to-back field goals to give Columbia momentum early in the first quarter. Columbia held its largest lead of the quarter at 19-10 with 13 seconds remaining. Princeton converted an old-fashioned three-point play just before the buzzer to trim the Columbia lead to 19-13. Hsu started hot and was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting. Collins totaled six points in the first quarter after making the first two baskets of the game.
Princeton outscored Columbia in the second quarter, 17-10, to hold a 30-29 halftime lead. The Lions and Tigers were evenly matched in the first half as both teams totaled 18 points in the paint and seven bench points. Princeton outrebounded Columbia in the first half but the Lions hung tough on the glass, 24-20.
Columbia found its rhythm from behind the 3-point line in the third quarter and went 5-of-9 from deep to build a double-digit lead. Collins and Hsu each made two while
Kitty Henderson added one. The Lions outscored Princeton, 24-15 in the third quarter to hold a 53-45 advantage heading into the fourth.
Columbia continued its momentum into the fourth quarter and built up its largest lead of the game, 64-53, with 5:17 remaining in the game. Princeton cut into the lead in the closing minutes but the Lions held on and defended down the stretch to reclaim a share of first place.
"We were ready. We wanted to go get this game and I think the look in our eyes told us all I needed to know in that last timeout," Griffith added.
Columbia will now hit the road for its final three games of the regular season. The stretch begins next Friday and Saturday, when they take on Brown and Yale. Friday's tip against the Bears in Providence is set for 4 p.m. ET.
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