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Ivy Hoops Online reporter George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps an emphatic win for Princeton women’s basketball at Columbia to even up the season series and tie Columbia atop the Ivy League standings – along with Harvard – at 7-2:
As the opening half of the conference schedule came to a close on Saturday, Columbia used a dominant performance over last-place Dartmouth to claim sole possession of first place. Penn, which entered the weekend tied with the Lions, fell from the top slot after giving up a season-high 84 points during a lopsided 24-point defeat at Harvard. Princeton, which started out tied with Harvard and Yale, used a masterful defensive performance to beat Yale by 49 points and keep pace with the Crimson. In Saturday’s Ivy opening game, Cornell used a 10-1 run early in the fourth quarter to pull away from Brown and get the league’s only road win.
Saturday results
Cornell over Brown, 66-61
Princeton over Yale, 79-30
Columbia over Dartmouth, 79-50
Harvard over Penn, 84-60
Standings
Columbia 6-1 (17-3 overall)
Princeton 5-2 (14-5)
Penn 5-2 (13-7)
Harvard 5-2 (12-7)
Yale 4-3 (10-10)
Cornell 2-5 (9-11)
Brown 1-6 (8-11)
Dartmouth 0-7 (2-19)
As the second half of the Ivy schedule begins this weekend, all eyes will focus on Levien Gymnasium as Columbia welcomes the Ps to NYC. The league leaders will look for payback on Friday night against the Quakers, who pulled away late in the fourth quarter at home against the Lions on January 7. On Saturday, Columbia, which beat Princeton by three in an overtime thriller on January 6, will try to make it two in a row against four-time defending champs. The Tigers haven’t been swept by an Ivy opponent since losing to Penn three times in 2017, but the dreaded Friday night bus trip from Ithaca to Manhattan and a start time 20 hours after finishing the game at Cornell will certainly pose added challenges.
Fri., Feb. 3
Princeton at Cornell, 6:00 p.m.
Harvard at Yale, 6:00 p.m.
Penn at Columbia, 6:00 p.m.
Dartmouth at Brown, 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 4
Penn at Cornell, 4:00 p.m.
Princeton at Columbia, 4:00 p.m.
Dartmouth at Yale, 4:00 p.m.
Harvard at Brown, 5:00 p.m.
Below are 10 of the top performances from the weekend:
A career-first triple-double performance from senior forward Kaitlyn Davis helped ensure Columbia never trailed in a dominant 79-50 victory against Dartmouth Saturday at Levien Gym.
The Lions (17-3, 6-1 Ivy) entered the game as one of three teams in the country to use the same starting lineup all season. That changed against Dartmouth (2-19, 0-7) as coach Megan Griffith decided to rest sophomore guard Kitty Henderson due to a minor injury. Senior guard Carly Rivera made her first start of the season.
“Going into this week not knowing if she [Kitty] was going to be in or not, we just made sure everybody understood who’s going to take those points, who’s going to take those rebounds, who’s going to take those assists,” Griffith said. “And so them understanding the total team buy-in of, one of us falls down, we all pick it up as a group.”
Columbia junior guard Abbey Hsu has been bestowed Player of the Week honors by both the Ivy League and the Metropolitan Women’s Basketball Association (MBWA).
Hsu put on a stellar shooting performance in a 94-74 victory against Brown Saturday, scoring a game-high 26 points off 9-for-14 shooting, including a 7-for-11 showing from beyond the arc. Hsu even managed a four-point play to cap a 10-0 third quarter Columbia run that put the Lions up by 20. Hsu also recorded six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
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.
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.
Columbia women’s basketball bested Princeton at Jadwin Gym Friday night to secure the Lions’ first win over the Tigers in the Megan Griffith era, dealing the home team its first Ivy home loss under Carla Berube. Ivy Hoops Online reporter George “Toothless Tiger” Clark breaks down how Columbia (13-2, 2-0 Ivy) pulled off the major victory over Princeton (8-5, 0-2):
Coming off its first Ivy loss of the Carla Berube era, the Princeton women (8-4, 0-1 Ivy) hope to bounce back at Jadwin Gym against a Columbia squad (12-2, 1-0) looking to prove it has surpassed the Tigers. Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark previews the marquee matchup slated for Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU in this audio report: