NEW YORK – Winners of nine straight, the Columbia women's basketball team (16-4, 7-0 Ivy) hopes to make it 10 in a row when it visits Brown (10-10, 4-3 Ivy) on Saturday in Providence. The opening tip from the Pizzitola Sports Center, site of
2025 Ivy Madness, is scheduled for 2 p.m.
TICKETS
• Fans making the trip to Providence 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+. Mike Mancuso and Colleen Kelly 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 is on a nine-game winning streak, its longest since winning a program-record 11 straight games last Ivy League season. The Lions are outscoring opponents by 18.8 points and outrebounding them by 10.9 per game on their current winning streak. Columbia has also won 17 straight Ivy games dating back to last season. The Lions are an Ivy League-best 32-3 (.914) against league competition since the start of the 2022-23 season.
•
Riley Weiss garnered several weekly accolades after scoring a career-high 26 points in last Friday's win at Harvard, followed by 25 the next night against Dartmouth. The sophomore from Long Island was named one of five
USBWA National Players of the Week and an Associated Press Honorable Mention POTW. She also earned her
second straight Ivy League and Met Basketball Writers Player of the Week selections.
• The Lions are receiving votes in the
AP Top 25 Poll for the first time this season. They were selected as the March Madness Women's Basketball
Team of the Week on Tuesday.
• Senior
Kitty Henderson averages 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game. She is now the only player in the country to average those minimums in each category.
• Henderson leads the Ivy League and ranks No. 33 in the NCAA in assists per game (5.2). She also ranks seventh in the Ivies in scoring, sixth in rebounding and second in steals. The senior co-captain from Australia has been named Ivy League Player of the Week a league-best three times this season (Nov. 11, Dec. 2, Dec. 30).
• Columbia has won 11 straight in the series against Brown, including six straight in Providence. The series winning streak dates back to 2018. In those games, Columbia is averaging 83.2 points per game.
ROAD WARRIORS
• Since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, the Lions are 42-8 (.840) over their last 50 true road contests. They went 12-1 in 2021-22, 14-3 on their way to the WNIT Championship Game in 2022-23, 8-2 en route to their first March Madness selection last season, and are 8-2 so far this season.
HARVARD/DARTMOUTH POSTGAME NOTES (Jan. 31 – Feb. 1)
•
Kitty Henderson had 22 points and 10 rebounds at Harvard, recording the first 20-10 game by a Lion since
Abbey Hsu went for 22 and 14 in the 2024 Ivy League Tournament semifinals against Harvard.
•
Riley Weiss scored a career-high 26 points at Harvard.
• Columbia committed a season-low nine turnovers against Harvard.
• Columbia held an opponent to fewer than 50 points for the fourth time this season (Dartmouth).
•
Blau Tor hit career-highs in points (11), rebounds (9) field goals made and attempted (4-5) and minutes played (13:40) at Dartmouth.
PICK YOUR POISON
•
Kitty Henderson (3),
Riley Weiss (2) and
Cecelia Collins (1) have combined to win six of the 14 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 (73.8), rebound margin (+6.1), rebounds per game (39.15), offensive rebounds (15.3), three-pointers made per game (7.8), assists per game (17.2), assist/turnover ratio (1.23) and free throw attempts per game (16.00).
• Columbia ranks 20th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (15.3) and top 50 in rebound margin (+6.1). The Lions have outrebounded their last nine opponents by a combined 98 rebounds.
• The Lions are top 30 in the NCAA assists per game (17.2) and top 25 in assist/turnover ratio (1.23). Henderson (5.3) and Collins (4.2) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Ivies in assists per game. Henderson is also No. 1 in the Ivy League and top 75 in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.91). Collins ranks third in the Ivy (1.76).
• Columbia has three of the Ivy League's top 10 leading scorers.
Riley Weiss (18.0) has climbed to second;
Kitty Henderson (13.9) is seventh;
Cecelia Collins (13.5) is eighth.
• Weiss ranks No. 4 nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.25), No. 11 in total threes made (65) and No. 15 in total 3-point attempts (167). All of those marks lead the Ivy League. Her 38.9 three-point percentage is 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 (.530).
•
Kitty Henderson (6.4) and
Perri Page (6.3) rank No. 6 and 7 in the Ivy League in rebounding.
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 THE OPPONENT
• After a 1-2 start to league play, Brown has responded by winning three of their last four to jump into the coveted No. 4 spot in the Ivy League standings. However, the Bears have a tough schedule coming up. Including last Saturday's 13-point loss at Princeton, Brown will play five of six games against the top three in the league (Columbia, Princeton, Harvard). Their lone game not against the top three over that time comes at Penn on Feb. 15.
• Grace Arnolie is the team's leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, ranking No. 6 in the Ivy League. She is an excellent free throw shooter at 83.6 percent on the season and also ranks No. 4 in the Ivies in 3-pointers made per game (1.8). Arnolie can affect the game in many ways, ranking third in the league in assists (4.1) and four in steals (1.8). No other Bear averages double figures scoring – Gia Powell is the closest at 9.1 points per game.
• The Bears love to shoot the three, averaging 26.4 attempts per game to lead the Ivy League and rank No. 17 in the NCAA. They can also damage opponents at the foul line, where they are top 75 nationally at nearly 75 percent.
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.
