Columbia women’s basketball dominated Cornell in their second matchup of the season, 80–55, Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena.
In their first game to begin Ivy play, Cornell (8-13, 3-5 Ivy) had shocked Columbia (15-6, 6-2), 67–60.
On Jan. 3, Columbia sharpshooting junior guard Riley Weiss went 1-for-14 from the field and scored just five points overall, a significant factor in the upset. In this matchup, Weiss exploded for 38 points as the Lions emerged victorious.
Not shockingly, Weiss led the Lions in scoring Saturday. For Cornell, sophomore guard Kelsey Langston led the way with 13 points.
Weiss sets the tone in a stellar performance
So much of the Lions’ success runs through No. 24. In some of Columbia’s best performances of the year — including in Cancun against South Dakota State and in its historic rout of Dartmouth — Weiss was front and center. Against Cornell in January, senior guard and fellow Ivy Player of the Year contender Perri Page had 24 points and nine rebounds, and junior guard Fliss Henderson had 11 and 16, respectively, yet Columbia struggled with Weiss’s poor shooting. With 10 points in the first quarter Saturday, Weiss quickly put the past behind her.
Her sharpshooting stayed consistent all game as she heated up from long range. Weiss tied her season high with nine three-point shots on just 12 attempts, an incredibly efficient afternoon.
“My teammates were able to find me, and [I] just felt good,” Weiss told ESPN+.
Additionally, it was a balanced day of shooting for Weiss. She played evenly in all four quarters, with totals of 10, nine, 11 and eight points in each period, respectively. Weiss added five assists as well, showing that she wasn’t forcing shots but looking for teammates as well.
Following last Saturday’s loss at Penn, Weiss discussed how today’s win reassured the Lions.
“This needed to be a statement game for us,” Weiss said. “This week of practice was pretty intense, and we’re right back on track.”
Lions make their move in a sloppy second quarter
Behind a 9–2 run to end the first quarter punctuated by a buzzer-beating layup from Langston, the Big Red were hanging tight with Columbia going into the second quarter down just 21-20. To start the quarter, though, a combination of sloppy offense and prolonged exposure to the Lions’ vaunted defense led Cornell to commit six turnovers in the frame.
Just a minute in, Columbia forced their first shot clock violation of the game, punctuating a span in which they held the Big Red scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the second quarter. This stretch deflated the momentum Cornell had at the end of the first, and the Big Red never closed the gap that emerged in the beginning of the frame.
While finding success on the defensive end, Columbia played consistently on the other side of the court as well, turning defense into transition offense. Notably, sophomore guard Nasi Simmons seemingly emerged out of nowhere on one play to block a three-point attempt by Cornell senior forward Emily Pape, leading to a fast-break layup from Henderson. Pape, who led the Big Red with 19 points in their January upset, mustered only five points Saturday.
Broom picks up the slack in Avlijas’s absence
With senior guard Marija Avlijas out with an ankle injury, sophomore guard Mia Broom reemerged into the starting lineup. Broom, who had started early in the season, has played well off the bench in recent weeks, highlighted by 10 points in 27 minutes in the Lions’ win at Princeton where Riley Weiss played limited minutes due to foul trouble. While Broom only scored four points in Saturday’s win, she picked up five steals and six assists, both season highs.
Columbia will surely hope that Avlijas, a strong shooter and experienced leader, returns to the court soon, but Broom showed that the team can function effectively in Avlijas’ absence. Avlijas is the stronger shooter of the two, but Broom plays with a tenacious defensive intensity and strong court vision that functions well for the Lions.
After a statement win in Ithaca, the Lions return home for a consequential next weekend of Ivy play. Riding a three-game win streak against No. 23 Princeton (19–2, 7–1), Columbia host the Tigers at 6 p.m. on Friday before hosting Penn (13–8, 3–5) at 5 p.m. on Saturday. As travel partners with Columbia, Cornell will host Penn and Princeton on opposite days as the Lions.