NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team outscored Princeton 38-20 in the second half to win a battle of Ivy League unbeatens, 58-50, Monday night from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
Columbia (13-4, 4-0 Ivy) and Princeton (12-5, 3-1 Ivy) were the two remaining undefeated Ivy League teams heading into Monday's matchup. Now, only Columbia remains. The Lions forced 24 turnovers out of the Tigers, outscoring them 16-2 off those turnovers during their second-half march.
"We were a little amped up in the first half. We haven't been home in 47 days and it was a lot," said head coach
Megan Griffith in her
postgame interview with Lance Medow on SNY. "We just had to let the game happen. Once they did that, and we stuck to the game plan, they were great. We really capitalized in the second half."
Monday marked the Lions' first home game in 47 days, last playing at home on December 4 against San Francisco. The victory improved Columbia's home winning streak to 18 straight and their overall winning streak to six.
"This is a gas-pedal moment," Griffith went on to say. "I'm glad we got this one, but we've got another one next weekend, and then another one and another one … It's just another game. That's what I keep telling our team. Obviously, this means a lot to us, it means a lot to me, but I'm just proud that we were able to get this one in front of our fans and keep this thing rolling."
Senior co-captain
Cecelia Collins scored a game-high 18 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Susie Rafiu scored 13 points, nine of which came in the second half, grabbed three rebounds and picked up a career-high four steals.
Kitty Henderson, another senior co-captain, recorded seven points, seven rebounds, and seven assists to go with three steals. In the win, she moved to seventh place in career points, 11th in rebounds, second in assists and claimed sole possession of fifth in steals. She is now within 23 assists of the all-time program record held by Charlene Schuessler (1986-90).
For Princeton, Ashley Chea scored a team-high 16 points. Park Hill joined her in double figures with a dozen. Fadima Tall matched Henderson's game-high seven rebounds.
Despite forcing eight Princeton turnovers in the first quarter, shooting woes plagued the Lions. Princeton opened with a 7-0 run before Columbia answered with the next six. The Lions tied it twice on baskets by Collins and Henderson but never took the lead, trailing by two, 13-11, after the first.
The Tigers shot a blistering 8-of-11 (.727) from the field in the second quarter, allowing them to overcome 13 first-half turnovers and head to the locker room with a 10-point lead, 30-20. Meanwhile, the Lions could not buy a bucket, going 2-for-12 from long range in the half and shooting just 30 percent from the floor.
Columbia completely flipped the script in the second half. They held Princeton to 3-of-11 shooting and in the third quarter to start mounting the comeback. They took the lead for the first time with 1:21 left after Collins knocked down a three, 37-36. Columbia ultimately outscored Princeton 20-6 in the period to take a 40-36 lead into the fourth.
After starting the game 0-for-11 from the field,
Riley Weiss stuck with it and helped salt the game away. She hit two fourth-quarter triples, boosting the Columbia lead to nine each time. The Lions led by as many as 10 in the period.
Columbia will play its next game at home on Saturday against Penn (10-7, 1-3 Ivy). The game's opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
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.
