A month after suffering their only Ivy defeat, Columbia’s women exacted sweet revenge on Penn, 72-50, in front of a jubilant home crowd of 2,100 at Levien Gym Friday.
The win keeps the Lions (18-3, 7-1 Ivy) in first place ahead of a Saturday afternoon game hosting Princeton’s Tigers (15-5, 6-2), who will be seeking revenge of their own for their last loss, an overtime thriller at Jadwin.
Against Penn, Columbia showed — early and often — the elements that give it the most explosive offense in the league. And unlike last weekend, when the Quakers played flat-footed against Harvard, Columbia was facing a generally competent Penn team that simply could not keep up. Columbia scored the first eight points, never lost the lead, and led by 10 at the end of the first quarter and 17 at the half.
The Lions are — have long been, under coach Megan Griffith — more like cheetahs, playing the fastest-paced game in the Ivies. On Friday, they scored an astounding 30 points on fastbreaks — versus an equally astounding zero for Penn. Of Columbia’s 27 baskets, 22 came on assists; Penn managed just seven assists as its normally crisp and energetic passing game came unhinged, resulting in 16 turnovers.
Senior guard/forward Kaitlyn Davis had a double-double — 16 points (7-for-14 shooting) and 10 rebounds with six assists and two steals in just 23 minutes — for another stellar game following the triple-double she recorded last week against Dartmouth. And though no one outplayed her, two of her teammates had more points: senior guard Jaida Patrick (22 points on 8-for-13 shooting with five assists) and junior guard Abbey Hsu (17 points on a relatively profligate 6-for-20 night). Senior forward Hannah Pratt was a near-perfect 4-for-5 for nine points to go with 10 rebounds.
Columbia dominated on the boards, 50-35, including 16 offensive rebounds. And it poured in the threes — 11 on 31 attempts, versus four on 16 tries for Penn. In fact, Columbia’s percentage on threes (35.5%) beat Penn’s from inside the arc (35%).
The emphatic win was all the more impressive because Penn’s two mainstays, senior guard Kayla Padilla and junior forward Jordan Obi, both showed why they are among the Ivies’ best players. Obi scored the Quakers’ first three baskets and assisted on the next two — figuring in every Penn point in the first quarter — but Columbia had a 10-point lead. Obi finished with 14 points (6-for-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds.
And Padilla, though not up to her customary dominance, had 18 points (5-of-15 shooting) and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Stina Almqvist added 10 points off the bench. But Penn has no third player who consistently picks up the offense. Columbia, on the other hand, has four players who average in double figures, and a fifth at 9.7 points per game.
The Quakers (13-8, 5-3) will have a better chance to return to their winning ways Saturday afternoon at Cornell (9-12, 2-6).