NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team (19-5, 10-1 Ivy) plays its final three regular season games at home, beginning with a back-to-back against Brown on Friday at 4 p.m., and Yale on Saturday at 2 p.m.. Both games are part of a Columbia basketball doubleheader this weekend at Levien Gymnasium.
TICKETS
• Fans can
click here to purchase tickets to either of this weekend's games. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time online. If available, tickets can also be purchased on-site at the ticket window, located at 3030 Broadway.
GAME COVERAGE
• Lance Medow and Maren Walseth will have the call of Friday's game against Brown. Medow and Doug Feinberg will call Saturday's game against Yale. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for both games are available on the Columbia Athletics website. Fans can also track the game live via ESPN's Gamecast, and by following @CULionsWBB on social media.
PLAYING WITH PRIDE
• The Lions will host their fifth annual Pride Game on Saturday. The team will be sporting special warm-ups and the first 200 fans will receive a pride pin. Columbia's Pride Game has been a staple at Levien Gym since 2020 and brings in several on-campus groups to celebrate the team's commitment to being an ally for all. In addition, one student in attendance will win a JBL Speaker.
OPENING TIPS
• Columbia reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings by defeating Princeton, 64-60, last Saturday at Jadwin Gym.
Riley Weiss scored a career-high 34 points in the victory, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter. Weiss is the first player to score 34+ points against Princeton since two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne scored 35 against the Tigers on Nov. 21, 2009, also at Jadwin Gym.
• Weiss was named 1 of 5 USBWA National Players of the Week, an Associated Press Player of the Week Honorable Mention, an NCAA.com Starting Lineup of the Week member, the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Women's Division I Player of the Week and the Ivy League Player of the week. It is the second time this season the USBWA and AP selected Weiss for those national honors.
• With two wins this weekend, Columbia can lock up the No. 1 seed at this year's Ivy League Tournament. Ivy Madness is being hosted by Brown in Providence, March 14-16.
• Columbia is a league-best 35-4 (.897) in Ivy League games over the last three seasons. They are 47-6 (.887) in Ivy League play since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• Senior
Kitty Henderson is now Columbia's all-time career assists leader, surpassing Charlene Schuessler (1986-90) for the record in the win at Princeton. Henderson enters the game with 459 career assists, three better than Schuessler's 456, which stood as the record for 35 years. Henderson is three assists from entering the top 10 in that category in Ivy League history (462 - Angie Soriaga, Dartmouth - 2003-06).
• Columbia is looking to extend its 12-game series winning streak against Brown and a nine-game series winning streak against Yale. Both of those streaks are Columbia's longest in series history.
PRINCETON POSTGAME NOTES (Jan. 20)
• Columbia swept the season series from Princeton for the first time since 2008,
• Columbia ended Princeton's 30-game home winning streak, which was the longest active streak in the nation entering the game. Columbia was also the last team to defeat Princeton before that streak started, 58-55, in overtime on Jan. 6, 2023.
• Weiss hit career-highs in points (34), free throws made (7) and attempted (7).
•
Kitty Henderson became Columbia's all-time leader in career assists with her 457th on a layup by
Perri Page with 8:54 left in the second quarter.
WEISS ON A ROLL
•
Riley Weiss is averaging 22.3 points and shooting 51.9 percent from the floor over her last seven games. She has eclipsed 20 points five times in that span, including a career-high 34 in a 64-60 victory at Princeton.
• Weiss has made each of her last 28 free throw attempts, going a career-best 7-for-7 at Princeton (Feb. 22). She has not missed at the foul line since going 5-of-6 at Penn on January 4. She is a combined 30-for-31 at the free throw line across Columbia's 11 Ivy League games.
IN RARE COMPANY
•
Kitty Henderson enters the weekend currently averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game. She and Duquesne's Megan McConnell are the only two players in the country averaging those numbers, or better, in each category.
TRIO OF PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
•
Kitty Henderson (3),
Riley Weiss (3) and
Cecelia Collins (1) have combined to win seven of the 16 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).
RANKING THE LIONS
• Columbia leads the Ivy League in scoring offense (73.4), rebound margin (+7.3), rebounds per game (39.17), offensive rebounds (15.5), three-pointers made (7.8), assists (16.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.20).
• Columbia ranks No. 12 in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (15.5). They are top 25 in rebound margin (+7.3), top 30 in assists (16.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.20), top 40 in turnover margin (+4.75) and top 50 in scoring margin (+14.3).
•
Kitty Henderson (4.8) is No. 52 in the NCAA in assists per game. She and Collins (4.3) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Ivies. Collins is No. 1 in the Ivies and top 100 in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.92).
• Columbia has three of the Ivy League's top 10 leading scorers.
Riley Weiss (18.3) has climbed to second;
Cecelia Collins (13.6) is seventh;
Kitty Henderson (13.5) is eighth.
• Weiss ranks No. 6 nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.17), No. 15 in total threes made (76) and No. 17 in total 3-point attempts (198). All of those marks lead the Ivy League. Her 38.4 three-point percentage is also No. 1 in the Ivy League and top 75 in the NCAA.
•
Cecelia Collins ranks top 60 nationally and No. 1 among NCAA-qualified Ivy League players in field goal percentage (.513). Henderson (.460) is No. 2 in the Ivies among NCAA-qualified players. (min. 5 made/game).
•
Perri Page (6.0) and
Kitty Henderson (6.0) are tied for seventh in the Ivy League in rebounding.
Cecelia Collins (5.3) is ranked 12th.
• Henderson ranks No. 2 in the Ivy League and top 60 in the NCAA in steals per game (2.38).
BUBBLE WATCH
• For the third consecutive season, Columbia has placed itself in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Currently, Columbia holds a NET ranking of No. 42 with a NET Strength of Schedule of 82. The Lions have played 10 games against NET Top 100 teams with a record of 5-5 against those opponents. They are 1-2 against Quad 1, 2-3 against Quad 2 and a perfect 16-0 against teams in Quads 3 and 4.
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, Apple Podcasts and the Audacy app.
SCOUTING BROWN
• Brown (10-14, 4-7 Ivy) is fighting the fourth and final spot at this year's Ivy Madness, which the Bears are hosting. They took Harvard to the wire last Saturday, leading by as many as 12 in the first half before falling in a game that came down to the final seconds, 60-57. Brown is currently in fifth place in the league standings, one game behind Penn (5-6). They play Columbia and Cornell (3-8 Ivy) this weekend, while Penn travels to Dartmouth (2-9) and Harvard (9-2).
• Grace Arnolie has started every game and leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per contest, which ranks No. 5 in the Ivy League. She has knocked down a team-leading 43 threes, shooting 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. On the glass, senior Gianna Aiello averages 7.6 rebounds, which ranks No. 3 in the Ivy League. Arnolie is top five in the league in assists (4.0), while Aiello is No. 2 in blocked shots (1.0).
• Columbia has won 11 straight in the series against Brown dating back to February of 2018. The Lions earned a dominating win in Providence, 78-40, back on Feb. 8. Columbia started the game on a 15-0 run, leading 24-4 at the end of the first quarter and never looking back. Weiss scored a game-high 20 points.
SCOUTING YALE
• Yale (3-21, 2-9 Ivy) earned a home victory over Dartmouth, 76-59, last Saturday. The Bulldogs led by as many as 27 points in the contest. Senior Grace Thybulle scored a game-high 20 and was one of four Bulldogs to score 12 or more points. Yale and Dartmouth are now tied for seventh in the league standings.
• Six-foot senior Mackenzie Egger leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, ranking No. 4 in the Ivy League. Egger is the Ivy League's leading rebounder at 9.5 per contest, ranking 40th in that category in the NCAA. She also leads the team in steals (1.8) and blocks (0.7). Junior Kiley Capstraw has started all 24 games and is the floor general, totaling 64 assists and averaging 2.7 per game.
• Columbia has won nine straight in the series against Yale dating back to February of 2020. Back on January 18, the Lions earned a wire-to-wire, 84-64, victory in New Haven. Columbia scored 31 points in the first quarter and got a pair of 20-point outings from Weiss and Collins. Page had 10 rebounds off the bench.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on
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GoColumbiaLions.com.
