Abbey Hsu’s seven three-pointers propel Columbia women past Brown, 94-74

Junior guard Abbey Hsu’s game-high 26 points helped lift Columbia past Brown Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Columbia women’s b opened a five-game home stretch with a 94-74 victory over Brown (8-10, 1-5 Ivy), powered by a dominant performance from junior guard Abbey Hsu Saturday afternoon.

Brown (8-10, 1-5 Ivy) welcomed junior guard Kyla Jones back to the starting lineup after missing both games against Princeton and Yale last week.

Columbia (16-3, 5-1) outscored the Bears 19-8 to close out the first quarter with a 28-17 edge.

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Columbia men fall to Cornell at home in high-scoring clash

In a high-scoring affair, Columbia lost 102-85 to Cornell Monday afternoon, dropping its last home game for the next month.

Columbia (6-14, 1-4 Ivy) jumped out to a strong start with a 7-2 run before Cornell (14-4, 4-1) went on a 7-0 run of its own to tie the game at 9-9. Sophomore forward Robbie Stankard hit a three to give the Lions a 10-9 lead, their last advantage of the game.

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Dartmouth men withstand Harvard comeback and get weekend sweep

Dartmouth senior forward Dame Adelekun posted 14 points and nine rebounds in the Big Green’s 60-59 win at Lavietes Pavilion Monday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Despite having its double-digit second half lead methodically erased by Harvard, Dartmouth prevented the Crimson from getting off a last-possession shot and came away with a 60-59 victory at Lavietes Pavilion on Monday afternoon.

In the opening weeks of Ivy play, the Big Green (7-12, 3-2 Ivy) are the conference’s most pleasant surprise.  Picked seventh in the preseason media poll, Dartmouth now has wins against the No. 1 (Penn), No. 2 (Yale) and No. 4 (Harvard) ranked teams.

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Penn women breeze past Dartmouth, 69-57

Four starters scored in double figures to push the Penn women to a convincing 69-57 win over Dartmouth Saturday afternoon. It’s the 11th win in a row for Penn (12-5, 4-0 Ivy), the last 10 of them in the friendly confines of the Palestra.
The young Dartmouth team (2-16, 0-4) showed potential that belies its record and its position as the Ancient Eighth. Still, Penn led all the way, and the game was never in serious doubt after the first quarter, when the Quakers built an 18-10 lead. A three by Dartmouth junior guard Mekkena Boyd cut the Penn lead to six early in the third quarter, but junior forward Jordan Obi answered with a three of her own, and the lead never dropped below nine again.

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Harvard men stymie Columbia, powered by Ledlum double-double

While the Ivy League is known for its close games, Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Lavietes Pavilion was an exception as Harvard cruised to a 73-51 victory over Columbia.

The win moves the Crimson (11-7, 2-2 Ivy) into a four-way tie for second place, while the defeat sends the Lions (6-13, 1-3) into a two-way tie with Yale for the bottom slot in the conference.

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Columbia women notch dominant win over Harvard in return home

Junior guard Abbey Hsu was a major catalyst in Columbia’s 82-56 victory over Harvard Saturday afternoon, contributing 15 points on 6-for-13 field-goal shooting. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

In its first Ivy play at Levien Gym this season, Columbia pulled off a happy homecoming by hamstringing Harvard in an 82-56 romp.  

Coming off a heartbreaking loss at Penn last Saturday that followed a triumphant overtime victory at Princeton, Columbia (14-3, 3-1 Ivy) was hunting for a bounceback win. The Lions got off to a rocky start, turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter alone but got out of the quarter with an 18-13 lead over Harvard (9-7, 2-2).

Harvard senior guard McKenzie Forbes’ quarter-ending layup started an 8-2 Harvard run that included a three from junior guard Lola Mullaney early in the second which gave the Crimson a 21-20 lead – their last of the game.

Despite a five three-pointer performance from Mullaney, it wasn’t enough, as the Lions would go on to outscore the Crimson 18-8 to close out the second quarter going into halftime with a 38-29 lead. Columbia’s offense came alive in the third quarter, including a 10-0 run that gave the Lions a 17-point lead. Columbia outscored Harvard 26-9 in the quarter to take a commanding 26-point lead entering the fourth. The Lions opened up the fourth with a layup from senior guard/forward Kaitlyn Davis, giving them a 28-point lead, their largest of the afternoon.

Senior guard Jaida Patrick and junior guard Abbey Hsu led the way for the Lions, each totaling 15 points and Hsu knocking down three triples. But the Lions got everyone involved, posting 23 assists with four players scoring in double digits and 10 registering buckets. Senior guard Carly Rivera led the team with five dimes.

The Lions also owned the boards, outrebounding Harvard 56 -20, including 23-6 on the offensive glass.  Davis led the team with a game-high 11 boards while sophomore guard Kitty Henderson recorded nine, tying her season-high and bringing her one rebound short of a double-double. 

On the other end, Harvard found itself in foul trouble for most of the game, committing 21 fouls. Forbes fouled out in the fourth quarter, while senior guard Maggie McCarthy and first-year guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello each committed four fouls.

2021-22 Ivy Rookie of the Year Harmoni Turner came off the bench for Harvard, logging 25 minutes, Turner tied a season scoring low with just five points on 2-for-8 field-goal shooting.

Columbia will look to keep the momentum going as it travels to Ithaca on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for a battle with Cornell (8-8, 1-2) at 2 p.m.

Three observations about the Princeton men’s fast start to Ivy League play

2021-22 Ivy Player of the Year Tosan Evbuomwan is flourishing further as a senior this season, ranking in the Ivy League’s top eight in scoring, rebounding, assists, free-throw percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

For the fourth season in a row, the Princeton Tigers men’s basketball team has raced out to a 3-0 start in the Ivy League. As a result, the Tigers currently stand alone atop the conference standings.  Here are three observations about how the Tigers have managed to put themselves in the driver’s seat yet again in their quest to repeat as regular season champions:

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Ivy men’s hoops observations as league play approaches

With conference play in the 2022-23 Ivy League men’s basketball season fast approaching, let’s take a look back at the nonconference results for each team and examine each program – listed by season winning percentage:

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Ivy League must shake up conference scheduling to attract student support, reduce competitive imbalance

Members of a Brown Athletics-reported crowd of 525 watched as Brown men’s basketball took on Yale at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Jan. 17, 2022, nine days before Brown’s second-semester classes began. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

This Ivy League men’s basketball season, Brown men’s basketball will open its conference season against Penn.

Brown and the Red & Blue have formed a bit of a rivalry in recent years, facing off in key battles in the last three seasons vying for a berth in the Ivy League Tournament.

Brown has come up just a bit short in these moments and is yet to win an Ivy tourney bid. The Penn Band adds a raucous element on the road.

But here’s a group who won’t be in Providence for the matchup: the vast majority of Brown students.

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Columbia women complete revenge week sweep with UMass win – and they’re sharing the wealth

Abbey Hsu shone during what she called “revenge week” for Columbia, leading the Lions to triumphs over teams that beat them last season. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

On the strength of 14 three-pointers and a 30-point third quarter, the Columbia women soundly defeated UMass at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon, their second straight takedown of an opponent that defeated them in New York City last year.

“This is huge. We called it revenge week,” Abbey Hsu told Columbia Athletics following the win. “This was to prove that we are a better team than we were last year. We want to be a team that competes with teams in the post-season and we proved that tonight.”

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