After two straight losses to Harvard women’s basketball derailed Columbia from regular and postseason Ivy League titles, senior guard Perri Page made her feelings known moments after being knocked out of the Ivy League Tournament.
“We all got to be bought in and go all into whatever we do,” the First Team All-Ivy and Defensive Player of the Year told assembled media last Friday night. “We are winning the WBIT. I can tell you that right now.”
Page and her teammates put the rest of the tournament on notice Thursday night, jumping out to a quick lead and cruising to a 74-26 rout of St. John’s at Levien Gymnasium.
The opening-round win improves the No. 4-seeded Lions record to 21-8 (11-4 Ivy League) on the season and a game on the road at North Dakota State, the No. 1 seed in their quadrant, on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
For its part, Harvard notched a comfortable WBIT opening-round home win of its own simultaneously Thursday night, dispatching Navy, 73-52. The win for the Crimson (19-11, 10-4) over the Midshipmen (22-9, 15-2 Patriot) set the victors up for a second-round matchup hosting Eastern Kentucky at a time to be determined Sunday.
How Columbia rolled
For the Red Storm, the 2025-26 campaign ended at 22-12 (12-10 Big East), with the team’s only other nonconference loss coming at the hands of the Crimson on Nov. 7.
Without the services of two starters, junior guards Fliss Henderson and Marija Avlijas, Columbia started a three-big lineup of Page, senior forward Susie Rafiu and junior forward Hilke Feldrappe.
The taller lineup didn’t slow down the aggressive defense, as the Lions forced seven turnovers, including five steals, in the opening 10 minutes.
While the defense was forcing St. John’s into miscues and a 2-for-11 effort from the field, the offense used runs of six, nine and five to finish the opening quarter up 20-4.
Junior guard Mia Broom, who replaced Avlijas in Thursday’s lineup, continued the hot offensive start in the second quarter by hitting three straight free throws after being fouled beyond the arc.
After a Lions 8-3 run, capped by sophomore guard Nasi Simmons’ jumper and layup off a steal, the advantage stretched to 31-10 at the media timeout.
The lead was trimmed to 19 with 90 seconds left in the quarter when junior guard Riley Weiss hit a layup and Broom connected on a triple to finish the half up 42-18.
Any concerns Columbia would let the visitors get back into the game were quickly dispelled, as Weiss scored 12 points during a Lions 16-2 run to start the third quarter and put the game out of reach.
The third quarter ended with the Light Blue and White ahead 40, 62-22, and team extended their lead to a game-high 48 by the end of the evening.
Weiss was the top scorer totaling 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting, with 17 coming in the second half. The Ivy League Player of the Year also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The sharpshooting guard wasn’t the only Columbia player to stuff the stat sheet, as Page had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, while Broom finished with nine points, six assists, five steals, two rebounds and a steal.
In addition, Simmons was just short of a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and eight points.
While the Lions dominated on the offensive side with 53.5% (23-for-43) shooting from two and 33.3% (7-for-21) from three, as well as 22 more points in the paint and 28 more points off of turnovers, the defensive effort was even more elite.
Columbia limited St. John’s to a season-low 26 points on 26.1% (12-for-46) shooting, including 5% (1-for-20) beyond the arc, outrebounded their crosstown rivals 41-28 and forced 27 turnovers.
The Lions, who were WNIT finalists in 2023, have a tough task ahead of them, as they head to Fargo to face the 29-4 Bison for a spot in the WBIT quarterfinals.
How Harvard rolled
Harvard built an 11-0 advantage at the first media timeout and withstood the visitors cutting its edge to five near the third quarter’s midway point after the Crimson held a 38-27 halftime lead.
Harvard forced 20 Navy turnovers and notched 16 points off takeaways.
The Crimson were led by junior guard Karlee White, who posted 19 points on 7-for-11 field-goal shooting, three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Junior forward Abigail Wright registered 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting, plus five rebounds and two assists.
If Columbia and Harvard, which beat Navy 73-52 in their opening round game, can keep on winning, Ivy fans will get a fourth season matchup in the national semifinals.