Women's Basketball Fights Off Brown to Earn 20th Win, 59-56

Saturday, February 28

Providence, R.I.

5:00 p.m.

Columbia

20-6,11-2Ivy League

Brown

16-9,8-5Ivy League

Columbia

Brown

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Brian Foley

Women's Basketball Fights Off Brown to Earn 20th Win, 59-56

2/28/2026 10:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Lions will play for their fourth straight regular-season title next Saturday against Harvard

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Perri Page connected on a go-ahead three-point play with 1:48 remaining, and the Columbia women's basketball team fought off a pesky Brown side, 59-56, Saturday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Columbia (20-6, 11-2 Ivy) led by one at halftime but fell behind by five with 9:07 to go. The Lions answered the bell with a 9-0 run, sparked by a Marija Avlijas second-chance three before a Riley Weiss and-one put them back in front. Weiss then splashed home a three-pointer in transition to put Columbia ahead by four, 50-46.

Brown (16-9, 8-5 Ivy) tied it two more times, the latter coming when Alyssa Moreland hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe at the 2:07 mark. Page answered with the biggest bucket of the night, receiving a pass on the near baseline from Mia Broom, driving under the basket and finishing off a foul from Moreland. Page connected on the free throw to make it a three-point game.

Moreland scored to cut the lead back to one and the Lions were called for a travel with seven seconds left to give the Bears a chance to win it. However, they weren't able to inbound the ball before the officials whistled them for a five-second violation. Weiss hit two free throws to push the lead back to three and the Lions stole Brown's final inbounds pass to dribble out the clock.

"It was all about defensive execution at the end of that game," Lavine Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball Megan Griffith '07CC said. "I was really proud of our team for locking in on the play that mattered the most and forgetting about the rest of that game. You've just got to be what's in front of you in that moment. Credit to [Brown], but I thought Perri and Susie were excellent down the stretch for us."

With the win, Columbia locked up its fifth consecutive 20-win season. More importantly, the Lions remain atop the Ivy League standings heading into next Saturday's regular-season finale against Harvard. A win over the Crimson earns the Lions no less than a share of their fourth straight league title, as well as the No. 1 seed at this year's Ivy League Tournament.

Page finished with 13 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, team-high four steals and two assists. She was also a perfect 7-of-7 at the foul line, helping the Lions go 14-of-15 (.933) on the night. Page had the first four points of the game and five in the final period. The double-double is her fifth of the season.

Weiss led the Lions with 19 points while going 2-for-3 from deep and 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Her highlight of the night was a four-point play at the 3:04 mark of the second quarter. It accounted for four of her 11 points in the period.

Brown was led by Grace Arnolie's game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting. However, she struggled from deep, hitting just 1-of-7 from 3-point land. Moreland had 11 points and nine boards.

The Bears scored 29 points off 26 Columbia turnovers, but weren't able to completely capitalize due to coughing it up 22 times themselves. The Lions turned that into 20 points and made up just enough by edging Brown on the glass and converting when it mattered most.

Next Saturday's regular-season finale at Levien Gymnasium is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m. It will be Senior Day for Perri Page and Susie Rafiu, with pregame festivities expected to begin at approximately 1:45.

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