Oliver Presented With 1,000-Point Ball Before Friday Night Game With Princeton
NEW YORK – Despite a strong first-half performance by junior Tori Oliver, who led the game with 13 points at the break, the Columbia women’s basketball team (12-14, 1-10 Ivy) was unable to defeat the defending Ivy League Champion Princeton Tigers as they fell, 77-48, on Friday night.
Prior to the night’s game, Interim Head Coach Sheila Roux presented Oliver with a commemorative ball in honor of her 1,000th-career point which she earned on the road against the Tigers back on Feb. 13.
Trailing 11-2 in the early part of the game, it was Oliver who was able to drive to the basket for an old-fashioned 3-point play and with the help of a corner three by Alexa Giuliano, the Lions were able to cut the Princeton lead to 11-8 with 4:18 remaining in the first.
Despite four more points by Oliver, the Tigers answered with a 13-6 run of their own thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 24-14 lead into the second quarter.
Columbia came out of the break attacking, however, taking six of the first eight points in the quarter before Princeton could respond with a pair of buckets, holding the Lions scoreless from the field to take a 30-22 lead into the first media timeout with 4:57 to go in the half.
From there, the Tigers were able to finish out the half on an 11-6 run to take a 41-28 lead into the locker rooms at the break.
Columbia finished the first half with only three turnovers while picking up six second-chance points compared to only four by the Tigers.
While Camille Zimmerman was able to come out of the break with a pair of free throws to open the third, the Tigers were able to respond with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 48-30 lead into the media timeout with 4:57 on the clock.
Unfortunately after being held to only five points in the third quarter, the Lions were unable to come back from the deficit as Princeton went on to seal a 77-48 victory.
Oliver led the Lions with 14 points while Devon Roeper finished two points shy of a double-double, posting up eight points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Despite being out all year with injury, senior Kayla Patton came in the final minutes of action, scoring her first points in the last two years on her first shot attempt of the season. On Sunday, Patton and Sara Mead will join together as they step on the court of Levien Gymnasium for one final time in a Columbia uniform.
The Lions will play in their final home game of the season on Sunday, Feb. 28, as they welcome conference leader Penn to Levien Gymnasium for a 3 p.m. tip. Prior to the game, the Lions will honor the team’s two seniors, Kayla Patton and Sara Mead.
