It was a big game for both teams, but it was arguably even bigger for Yale.
The inconsistent Bulldogs sat at 6-3 and Columbia at 7-1 in Ivy play entering Saturday’s fray. Yale very much wanted to separate from Harvard and avoid the Columbia season sweep.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Columbia prevailed, 65-57, in a very close contest throughout at John J. Lee Amphitheater to complete its first season sweep over Yale since 2011.
Yale (13-9, 6-4 Ivy) and Columbia (17-4, 8-1) came out on fire early on. Yale led 8-7 after 3:30 of play and Columbia, powered by five points from Abbey Hsu, took a 16-12 lead.
Yale led, 27-26, on a three from Klara Astrom and the Lions went into the locker room up 28-27. Yale was only 11-for-35 from the field in the first half and 3-for-12 from three. But the home team’s deficit was still only one in part due to five steals leading to points.
A 10-2 Yale run in the third quarter gave Yale a 37-34 lead, but Columbia responded by riding Sienna Durr to a 48-41 lead heading into the last frame.
Columbia then reeled off a 7-0 run to open the last stanza. A three-pointer by Mackenzie Egger, who finished with a career-high 11 points, pulled Yale within five with 1:08 remaining. But Columbia went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the win.
“We played great defense in the first half, but we didn’t stick to our game plan in the third quarter,” Yale coach Allison Guth said.
Alex Cade contributed a career-high 20 points, while Camilla Emsbo snared a career-high 19 rebounds.
Columbia coach Megan Griffith tinkered with her starters a bit, starting Jaida Patrick over Sienna Durr. Patrick finished with 19 points and Abbey Hsu registered 18.