NEW YORK – Columbia (18-5, 9-1 Ivy) and Princeton (18-5, 9-1 Ivy) face off with sole possession of first place in the Ivy League women's basketball standings on the line Saturday evening. The opening tip from Jadwin Gym in Princeton is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
TICKETS
• Fans making the trip to Princeton can
click here to purchase tickets ahead of time. Tickets can also be purchased on-site at the venue.
GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be streamed
live on ESPN+. Jon Mozes and Maren Walseth will have the call. Fans can
click here to access live stats through the Brown Athletics website, or on the
ESPN app. Live updates will also be posted to the Columbia women's basketball team's Twitter account (
@CULionsWBB).
OPENING TIPS
• Columbia hopes to snap Princeton's 30-game home winning streak, which is the longest active home winning streak in the country. Princeton's last home loss came against Columbia, 58-55 (OT), on January 6, 2023. Columbia's win at Princeton in 2023 was its first in the series against the Tigers since 2008. Since then, the two sides are an even 3-3 against one another.
• Columbia and Princeton are each an Ivy-best 34-4 (.895) in Ivy League games over the last three seasons.
• Columbia is an impressive 47-8 (.855) over its last 55 true road contests. That record dates back to the last four road games of the 2019-20 season. They are 9-2 in true road games this season.
• Senior
Kitty Henderson is tied with Columbia Athletics Hall of Famer Charlene Schuessler (1986-90) for the program's all-time assists record. Henderson enters the game with 456 career assists. She and Schuessler are tied for 12th in career assists in Ivy League history. Henderson is six assists away from the top 10.
• Henderson also ranks No. 7 in Columbia WBB history in points (1,246), No. 10 in rebounds (651), tied for No. 4 in steals (169) -- also with Schuessler -- No. 2 in games played (118) and No. 4 in games started (109). With a career record of 94-25 (.790), Henderson is the winningest player in program history.
•
Riley Weiss (17.7),
Cecelia Collins (13.9) and
Kitty Henderson (13.4) are all among the top eight in the Ivy League in scoring. Weiss ranks No. 7 nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.09)
DARTMOUTH POSTGAME NOTES (Feb. 14)
• Columbia posted season-highs in scoring (89), rebound margin (+38), total rebounds (60) and steals (17).
• The 37 points allowed tied for the fewest against a Div. I opponent in program history, the other also coming against Dartmouth (80-37) in 2023.
• Columbia's 52-point margin of victory is its best against an Ivy League opponent in program history.
• Five Lions scored in double figures for the first time this season
• Columbia's seven turnovers were its fewest in a game since March 4, 2018 against Harvard (7).
• Columbia's 17 steals were its most in a game since Dec. 13, 2022 at LIU (17).
•
Susie Rafiu's 16 rebounds were the most by a Lion since Kaitlyn Davis (17) and Hannah Pratt (19) each eclipsed the mark in a 60-52 victory at Brown in 2022.
•
Marija Avlijas had a career-high six assists.
HARVARD POSTGAME NOTES (Feb. 16)
• Columbia was held to season-lows in points scored (54), field goals made (18), field goal percentage (.346) and assists. The Lions turned it over 20+ times for just the third time this season.
• The loss snapped Columbia's program-best 11-game winning streak and 19-game Ivy League winning streak.
RANKING THE LIONS
• Columbia leads the Ivy League in scoring offense (73.8), rebound margin (+7.5), rebounds per game (39.83), offensive rebounds (15.9), three-pointers made (7.7), assists (17.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.21).
• Columbia ranks No. 10 in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (15.9). They are top 25 in rebound margin (+7.5), top 30 in assists (17.1) and assists/turnover ratio (1.21), top 40 in turnover margin (+4.78) and top 50 in rebounds per game (39.83) and scoring margin (+14.7).
•
Kitty Henderson (4.9) is No. 49 in the NCAA in assists per game. She and Collins (4.1) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Ivies. Henderson is also No. 1 in the Ivy League and top 100 in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.84).
• Columbia has three of the Ivy League's top 10 leading scorers.
Riley Weiss (18.1) has climbed to second;
Cecelia Collins (13.9) is seventh;
Kitty Henderson (13.4) is eighth.
• Weiss ranks No. 7 nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.09), No. 16 in total threes made (71) and No. 23 in total 3-point attempts (187). All of those marks lead the Ivy League. Her 38.0 three-point percentage is also No. 1 in the Ivy League and top 75 in the NCAA.
•
Cecelia Collins ranks top 50 nationally and No. 1 among NCAA-qualified Ivy League players in field goal percentage (.521). Henderson (.452) is No. 2 in the Ivies among NCAA-qualified players.
•
Perri Page (6.1) and
Kitty Henderson (6.1) are tied for sixth in the Ivy League in rebounding.
TRIO OF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
•
Kitty Henderson (3),
Riley Weiss (2) and
Cecelia Collins (1) have combined to win six of the 15 Ivy League Player of the Week awards this season. No other school has had more than one player earn the Ivy League's weekly distinction. Nationally, the Lions are one of just five programs to have three or more players win their conference's player-of-the-wee award this season. (Longwood, Northern Arizona, Green Bay and Gonzaga).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Princeton (18-5, 9-1) has won six in a row since losing to Columbia, 58-50, on January 20 at Levien Gymnasium. Last weekend, they held off a second-half rally by Brown, 78-67, and cruised over Yale, 71-42.
• The Tigers lead the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.464) and three-point percentage (.347). Their scoring defense (56.1) ranks No. 28 in the NCAA. Offensively, they are led by sophomore Ashley Chea, who averages 12.7 points per game, which ranks ninth in the Ivy League. Skye Belker (12.2) is just outside the top 10. On the glass, sophomore Fadima Tall ranks No. 5 in the Ivies at 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Columbia and Princeton are an even 3-3 against one another over their last six meetings. The Tigers lead the all-time tilt, 59-19, including 30-8 in games played at Princeton.
MORNINGSIDE HOOPS PODCAST
• The seventh season of the Morningside Hoops Podcast is underway! Weekly episodes feature interviews with players from the Columbia men's and women's basketball teams. Fans can listen to the podcast on all major platforms, including Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Podcasts.
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.
