BLACKSBURG, Va. – For the first time in its 38-year history as a Division I program, the Columbia women's basketball team will compete in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday. The 12th-seeded Lions (23-6, 13-1) will face fellow 12-seed Vanderbilt (22-9, 9-7) in the First Four. The game is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
TICKETS
• Tickets to all NCAA Tournament games in Blacksburg, Virginia can be purchased online by
clicking here.
GAME COVERAGE
• Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich will be calling every game in Blacksburg on the ESPN family of networks. Wednesday's First Four game, as well as Friday's First Round games, are scheduled to air on ESPNU.
Click here to view the complete broadcast schedule for the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
• An online audio broadcast of the game will be available through the Columbia Lions Radio Network. Fans can
click here for a direct link to listen. Lance Medow will be on the call with Mike Kowalsky. Columbia's student radio station, WKCR, will also carry the game. Students and fans can listen on 89.9FM NY or online at
WKCR.org.
WATCH PARTY
• Columbia Athletics will be hosting a watch party in Levien Gymnasium. Cheer on the Lions with fellow fans and students! Entry to Levien Gymnasium will be from the 120th & Broadway entrance.
Doors open at 8:30 PM with the game being streamed on the video boards at 9:00 PM.
Free pizza will be served but RSVP is required.
Click here to RSVP!
WHAT TO KNOW:
OPENING TIPS
• The Lions earned just the second at-large bid out of the Ivy League in NCAA history. The only other occasion was Princeton in 2016. Head coach
Megan Griffith was an assistant coach on that 2015-16 Princeton staff.
• Columbia won its second straight Ivy League Regular Season Championship this season. Prior to the last two seasons, Columbia had never won an Ivy League title. Columbia became a Div. I program and an official member of the Ivy League in 1986-87. This is their 37th season competing in the Ivy League.
• Head coach
Megan Griffith is the winningest coach in Columbia women's basketball history, entering the NCAA Tournament with a record of 122-83 (.595). She has coached the Lions to a 76-19 (.800) overall record since the start of the 2021-22 season, including 10-5 (.667) in her career in postseason play. Griffith has been named the Ivy League Coach of the Year each of the last two seasons.
• Columbia's 21-2 record over its last 23 games is its best 23-game stretch in program history. Columbia tied a program record with 10 straight wins from Nov. 25 - Jan. 15, then broke the record with 11 straight wins from Jan. 27 - Mar. 15. The 11-game streak included their first AP Top 25 win, defeating Princeton, 67-65, on Feb. 24.
•
Abbey Hsu was named the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year. She is also a finalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and was named to several National Player of the Year watch lists throughout the season. She leads the Ivy League in scoring (20.6), total threes (88) and 3-point field goal percentage (.398). She ranks No. 20 in the NCAA in points per game and No. 8 in threes per game (3.03).
• Columbia has never defeated an SEC opponent, entering play 0-7 all-time against the conference. The Lions played two SEC teams earlier this season at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in the Bahamas. They took an 81-80 lead on Florida with 1.3 seconds remaining but fell on a buzzer-beater by Aliyah Matharu, 83-81.
HSU CROWNED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
•
Abbey Hsu was named the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year. She is the second Ivy League Player of the Year in Columbia women's basketball history (Judie Lomax, 2009-10). She was a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection for the second year in a row.
• Hsu had a historical final regular-season campaign to a sure-fire Hall of Fame career at Columbia. She is averaging a career-best 20.6 points per game, ranking No. 1 in the Ivy League and currently Top 20 in the NCAA. She ranks among the NCAA leaders in several other statistical categories, including No. 11 in 3-pointers made per game (2.89), No. 29 in total threes (78), No. 40 in 3-point percentage (.394), No. 42 in total points (556) and No. 50 in total field goals (199), leading the Ivies in all of those categories. Additionally, she ranks No. 4 in the Ivies in rebounding (7.1), No. 5 in free throw percentage (.762), No. 9 in field goal percentage (.455), and top 15 in assists (2.1), total blocks (15) and total steals (32). She was named Ivy League Player of the Week a program record seven times, tied for the second-most of any player in Ivy history.
ALL-IVY HONOREES
• Columbia placed three players on the All-Ivy list, led by
Abbey Hsu's second straight unanimous First Team selection. Juniors
Kitty Henderson and
Cecelia Collins were each named Second Team All-Ivy. Henderson earned first-or-second team recognition for the first time in her career. Collins was a two-time Second Team All-Patriot League player her freshman and sophomore seasons at Bucknell. This marks both the second year in a row and the second time ever that the Lions have had three players make the first or second team. Senior
Paige Lauder was Columbia's Academic All-Ivy selection and carries a 3.60 GPA with a double concentration in economics and psychology.
ALL-TIME SCORING GREAT
•
Abbey Hsu is the all-time leading scorer in Columbia basketball history (men's or women's) with 2,113 career points. She is the fourth player in Ivy League women's basketball history to reach 2,000 points.
• Hsu passed Camille Zimmerman '18CC for the all-time record when she got fouled on a 3-point attempt with 6:46 remaining in the third quarter at Dartmouth (Feb. 16). She made 2-of-3 to pass Zimmerman.
Columbia Basketball All-Time Scoring Leaders
1.
(W) Abbey Hsu (2019-pres.) - 2,113
2. (W) Camille Zimmerman (2014-18) - 1,973
3. (M) Buck Jenkins (1989-93) - 1,767
4. (M) Jim McMillian (1967-70) - 1,758
5. (M) Maodo Lo (2012-16) - 1,756
• Hsu is third on the Ivy League's all-time women's scoring list. She ranks No. 23 among active NCAA Div. I players in career points.
Ivy League Women's Basketball All-Time Scoring Leaders
1. Diana Caramanico - Penn (1997-01) 2,415
2. Allison Feaster - Harvard (1994-98) 2,312
3. Abbey Hsu - Columbia (2019-20, 21-24) 2,113
4. Hana Peljto - Harvard (2000-04) 2,109
5. Camille Zimmerman - Columbia (2014-18) 1,973
6. Vita Redding - Brown (1995-99) 1,962
7. Gail Koziara - Dartmouth (1978-82) 1,933
8. Katharine Hanks - Dartmouth (1999-03) 1,870
9. Reka Cserny - Harvard (2001-05) 1,863
10. Jayne Daigle - Dartmouth (2001-05) 1,846
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP POSTGAME NOTES
• Hsu was named to the Ivy League All-Tournament Team after averaging 21.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and shooting 10-for-23 (.435) from 3-point range.
• Hsu went 6-for-12 from three, marking the third time this season she has made at least six triples.
• Princeton shot 50 percent (29-58) for the game, marking the third time this season an opponent shot 50 percent or better against Columbia. Princeton did it in both of its victories over the Lions.
•
Fliss Henderson played a career-high 29:42.
•
Cecelia Collins matched her career-high of three made 3-pointers.
•
Perri Page went 4-for-4 at the stripe, marking her career-high in makes and tying her career-high in attempts.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook, or on the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com.
