Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.
(4) Columbia Earns WBIT Bid; Hosts St. John’s on Thursday
3/15/2026 9:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lions and Red Storm to meet for the first time since 2010
NEW YORK – The Columbia women's basketball team has been selected for the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). The Lions learned that they will host the First Round against St. John's on Thursday. The game will take place on Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium, with the opening tip slated for 7 p.m.
Columbia is the No. 4 seed in its region. If the Lions win their first game, they'll take on either No. 1 seed North Dakota State or unseeded Chattanooga in the Second Round on Sunday, March 22. If Chattanooga wins, Columbia will have the first option to host. If NDSU wins, they will have the first option The higher-seeded team has the first option to host each of the first three rounds of the tournament.
The Semifinals and Championship Round of the WBIT will take place on March 30 and April 1 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Click here for the full WBIT Bracket.
This is Columbia's fifth straight postseason tournament qualification. The Lions made their first-ever postseason appearance in the 2022 WNIT, winning three games on a run to the Great Eight. The following season, they made a run all the way to the WNIT Championship Game against Kansas. Columbia is the first Ivy League team to advance to the final of the WNIT.
Columbia earned a No. 11 seed in both the 2024 and 2025 NCAA Tournaments. Both qualifications were at-large selections. The Lions fell in a close battle against Vanderbilt, 72-68, in the First Four in 2024. Last season, they returned to the First Four and took down Washington, 63-60, for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
The 2025-26 Lions (20-8, 11-3 Ivy) secured a fifth straight 20-win season and went on to finish in second place in the Ivy League. They fell to third-seeded Harvard in overtime, 67-65, in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals.
Columbia is led by Ivy League Player of the Year Riley Weiss and Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Perri Page. Both were First Team All-Ivy League selections. Weiss ranks top 20 nationally and leads the Ivy League in both scoring average (19.9) and three-pointers made per game (2.86). She is also the Ivy League leader in 3-point percentage (37.0%), total points (556) and total field goals (198). Page leads the league in total steals (69) and steals per game (2.46), while ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (54.0%). Her shooting percentage is top 40 in the NCAA.
Click here to purchase tickets to Thursday's First Round game.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Columbia is the No. 4 seed in its region. If the Lions win their first game, they'll take on either No. 1 seed North Dakota State or unseeded Chattanooga in the Second Round on Sunday, March 22. If Chattanooga wins, Columbia will have the first option to host. If NDSU wins, they will have the first option The higher-seeded team has the first option to host each of the first three rounds of the tournament.
The Semifinals and Championship Round of the WBIT will take place on March 30 and April 1 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Click here for the full WBIT Bracket.
This is Columbia's fifth straight postseason tournament qualification. The Lions made their first-ever postseason appearance in the 2022 WNIT, winning three games on a run to the Great Eight. The following season, they made a run all the way to the WNIT Championship Game against Kansas. Columbia is the first Ivy League team to advance to the final of the WNIT.
Columbia earned a No. 11 seed in both the 2024 and 2025 NCAA Tournaments. Both qualifications were at-large selections. The Lions fell in a close battle against Vanderbilt, 72-68, in the First Four in 2024. Last season, they returned to the First Four and took down Washington, 63-60, for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
The 2025-26 Lions (20-8, 11-3 Ivy) secured a fifth straight 20-win season and went on to finish in second place in the Ivy League. They fell to third-seeded Harvard in overtime, 67-65, in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals.
Columbia is led by Ivy League Player of the Year Riley Weiss and Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Perri Page. Both were First Team All-Ivy League selections. Weiss ranks top 20 nationally and leads the Ivy League in both scoring average (19.9) and three-pointers made per game (2.86). She is also the Ivy League leader in 3-point percentage (37.0%), total points (556) and total field goals (198). Page leads the league in total steals (69) and steals per game (2.46), while ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (54.0%). Her shooting percentage is top 40 in the NCAA.
Click here to purchase tickets to Thursday's First Round game.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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