Columbia used 12-0 and 18-3 first half runs to open up a 26-point halftime lead and cruised to a 89-64 victory over Harvard on Saturday night at Levien Gym.
Harvard took an 11-10 lead right after the first media timeout, but that would prove to be the highlight of the night for the Crimson as Columbia (13-8, 4-4 Ivy) dominated the last 34 minutes.
The Lions entered the second half up 47-21 and stretched its advantage to 33 before finishing the frame up 72-41. Columbia was up by a game-high 34 points early in the fourth quarter, before the Crimson (14-7, 5-3) finished the game on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to the 89-64 final.
Columbia shot a remarkable 70% from two and 44% (13-for-29) from three. If it wasn’t for a poor 57% (12-for-21) performance from the charity stripe, the victory would have been even more convincing.
Harvard managed a solid 50% performance from inside the arc, but could only manage 21% (7-for-34) from beyond the arc and 55% (11-for-20) from the free throw line. The key for the Lions was their perimeter defense, limiting the Crimson’s strongest three-point shooters, Lola Mullaney, Maggie McCarthy and Tess Sussman to a paltry 2-for-20 from downtown.
The Lions were led by Abbey Hsu, who had a career night with 31 points (73% shooting), 11 made field goals and six made three-pointers. Sienna Durr finished with 20 points (64% shooting) and Mikayla Markham added 12 points (100% shooting) off the bench.
Columbia finished the weekend sweeping Dartmouth and Harvard for the first time in program history, claiming sole possession of fifth place. The Lions now have a two-game lead over its Empire State rival, after Cornell was swept at home and finds itself tied for sixth place with Dartmouth.
The Lions are only one game behind Yale and Harvard for the last spot in Ivy Madness with six games to go. The Light Blue will look to break into the upper division when it heads to Brown on Friday night at 6:00 and looks to even the season series against Yale on Saturday afternoon at 4:00.