Harvard Spoils Senior Day for Women’s Basketball, 68-64

Saturday, March 7

New York, N.Y.

2:00 p.m.

Columbia

20-7,11-3Ivy League

Harvard

17-10,10-4Ivy League

Harvard

Columbia

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang

Harvard Spoils Senior Day for Women’s Basketball, 68-64

3/7/2026 6:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Lions head to Ivy Madness, March 13-14, as the No. 2 seed and will play Harvard in the semifinals

NEW YORK -- Harvard rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Columbia women's basketball, 68-64, in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

Columbia (20-7, 11-3 Ivy) is the No. 2 seed for next weekend's Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament, presented by TIAA. This year's event is being hosted by Cornell at Newman Arena, March 13-14, in Ithaca, New York. Harvard (17-10, 10-4 Ivy) is the No. 3 seed, setting up a rematch on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Lions led, 35-22, at halftime, outscoring Harvard, 21-14, in the second quarter on 54-percent shooting. They extended the lead to 16 multiple times in the third quarter, the last coming on a Susie Rafiu layup at the 6:27 mark.

The Crimson followed with a 21-6 run sparked by Karlee White. She scored nine straight Harvard points early on and scored 12 of her team's 29 points in the period. The Crimson connected on 9-of-13 attempts and forced eight Columbia turnovers. Olivia Jones scored at the third-quarter buzzer to send the game to the fourth all-square at 51.

Harvard took its first lead of the game with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lions 46-29 in the second half. Still, the Lions had a chance to tie or take the lead. Trailing, 63-61, with less than 30 seconds to go, Lavine Family Head Coach Megan Griffith called for time to attempt to draw up the winning play. However, the play did not go to plan, as Columbia committed its 15th turnover of the half. Harvard came away with the ball and made two free throws to all but seal it.

Senior co-captains Perri Page and Susie Rafiu were honored in a pre-game ceremony. Page tied a career-high with 25 points, hitting 9-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the foul line. The senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also had eight rebounds and three steals, and became the 17th player in program history to reach 500 career rebounds. Rafiu put up eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, fouling out with 7:39 left in the game.

For the Crimson, White scored a team-high 24 points, 20 of which came in the second half. She was 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes, after scoring just four points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half. Saniyah Glenn-Bello scored a dozen and Jones made it a trio in double figures with 11.

The Lions opened with an 8-0 run over the first 3:10 of the game. Harvard answered with an 8-2 run before Marija Avlijas swished a three on a dime from Page. The Lions ended the first quarter with a 14-8 lead, pulling down 17 rebounds, eight of which came in the opening run.

Columbia took an 11-point lead early in the second quarter on a 9-1 run. Weiss pulled up for three and came away with four after she was fouled on the make. Page grabbed one of her three first-half steals and went coast-to-coast to up the Lions' lead to 29-16 with 4:22 to go. They carried that momentum into halftime up by 13.

Foul trouble, eight turnovers, and 9-of-13 Harvard shooting plagued the Lions in the third as Harvard erased a 16-point deficit. At the media timeout, Rafiu and Avlijas each had four and three fouls, respectively. Heading into crunch time, Harvard had tied Columbia 51-51.

The Lions lost Rafiu early in the fourth to her fifth personal foul as Harvard took the lead. With 53.1 seconds left, Page knocked down two free throws after Avlijas made a timely steal and made it a two-point game. Fliss Henderson picked off her defender to give the Lions a chance to take the lead with 28 seconds left.

Columbia's chances ended with their 23rd turnover, and the 15th committed by the Lions in the second half, which proved to be the difference-maker in the Crimson's comeback.

The Lions will get a rematch against Harvard next Friday in the Ivy League semifinals at 7:30 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+.

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