Columbia Falls to Princeton in Ivy League Championship Game, 75-58

Saturday, March 16

New York, N.Y.

5:00 p.m.

Columbia University

23-6,13-1Ivy League

(1) Princeton

25-4,13-1Ivy League

Columbia

Princeton

Photo by: Joshua Wang,New York

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang

Columbia Falls to Princeton in Ivy League Championship Game, 75-58

3/16/2024 7:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Hsu leads Lions with her second straight 20-point game

NEW YORK — The Columbia women's basketball team dropped the Ivy League Tournament Championship Game to Princeton, 75-58, on Saturday night from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

Abbey Hsu led Columbia (23-6) with 20 points on a 6-for-12 shooting night from three. The senior guard was two rebounds shy of a second straight double-double in as many nights.

Princeton (25-4) put four in double figures, led by Madison St. Rose's 18 points. Cecelia Collins and Kitty Henderson each added 13 points to round out Columbia's double-figure scorers.

The Lions, which had won a program-best 11 straight and 21 of their last 22 heading into the title game, now await their postseason fate. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show on ESPN is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

"There's no secret that I feel we should be playing in the NCAA Tournament," head coach Megan Griffith said in her postgame press conference. "We're in the same exact spot we were in last year, almost identical. We were the first team out last year. We go to the final of the WNIT against Kansas, at Kansas, and lose by seven. There are no other mid-major teams on the bubble or even in conversation for the bubble."

The Tigers earned a wire-to-wire victory, automatically qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year. Princeton jumped out to an 11-4 lead over the first five minutes of the contest. The Lions were 5-for-11 from the field as Hsu drilled a three-pointer off the feed from Henderson to bring Princeton's lead to 19-14 at the end of one.

"I can't say enough about Abbey Hsu," Griffith added. "She's one of the best players in the country and she needs to be seen. I really hope the (NCAA selection) committee gives her and this team a chance because if we just keep being in this spot, we're not growing the game."

Columbia trimmed the margin to two less than a minute into the period when Hsu added her second triple of the night. Hsu then recorded her 2,100th point on a free throw with 5:34 until the break.

Princeton would then lead by as many as eight before the half, following a pair of free throws from St. Rose with 5:15 left. The Tigers benefited from 24 points in the paint to Columbia's six in the first 20 minutes, giving top-seeded Princeton a 34-27 lead at the break.

The Tigers took their largest lead of the game at that point on a Kaitlyn Chen jump shot to make it 43-32 Tigers with 4:10 left in the third quarter. The margin grew to 14 thanks to Princeton's 8-0 run over a 1:50 span in the period. Princeton closed out the quarter on a 17-7 run and outscored the Lions 21-12 in the third to take a 55-39 lead into the final period of play.

Princeton led by double-figures for the final 14:10 of the game and held its largest lead with 2:57 to go when it was 67-48.

"We have to process this loss, and tomorrow morning, we have to come together and attack whatever is ahead of us," Henderson said. "As Coach G said and as Abbey said, we believe we are an NCAA Tournament team, so we will be watching that together and we're going to attack whatever happens."

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