Cecilia Collins

Sizing up Columbia women’s basketball’s shocking loss to Cornell to open Ivy play

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After the magic of the three-bid Ivy last season, Columbia, alongside Harvard, had work to do in conference play after good-but-not-great nonconference campaigns.

Entering Ivy play in Charlie Creme’s Next Four Out, the Lions now likely can wave the dream of an at-large bid goodbye after going down in the second quarter before Cornell pulled ahead for good late in the third en route to a 67–60 upset.

Despite playing in the friendly confines of Levien Gym, the Lions (9-5, 0-1 Ivy) just couldn’t find an offensive rhythm. Senior forward/guard Perri Page led the way with 24 points, and junior guard Fliss Henderson had a strong game with 16 rebounds. But critically, Columbia had zero bench points and junior guard Riley Weiss had her worst shooting performance of the season, making just one field goal.

Senior forward Emily Pape led the way for the Big Red (5-8, 1-0) with 19 points, with junior guard/forward Rachel Kaus adding 15 points and three offensive rebounds.

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2025-26 Ivy League women’s basketball preview

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The release of the Ivy League preseason media poll and 2025-26 Media Day revealed Princeton as the favorite heading into the 2025-26 season, followed by three-time defending champion Columbia, 2025 Ivy Madness title-holder Harvard in third and Penn rounding out the upper half of the conference.

Brown, which has tied the Quakers for fourth place the last two years, is the clear choice for the fifth slot. Dartmouth, Cornell and Yale are pegged for the last three spots, with the Big Green one point ahead of the Big Red and seven points in front of the Bulldogs.

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Ivy Madness: Women’s Basketball Media Day

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The Madness on display at "The Pizz" (Photo: Rob Browne for Ivy Hoops Online)
The Madness on display at “The Pizz” (Photo: Rob Browne | Ivy Hoops Online)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Welcome to Ivy Madness VII (and Chag Sameach to those celebrating Purim)

This year, Ivy Hoops Online is coming to you from the heights of the Pizzitola Sports Center on the campus of Brown University.

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Ivy women’s basketball Media Day highlights

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As the 2024-25 season quickly approaches, the Ivy League hosted its annual women’s basketball Media Day on Thursday. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, can be viewed on the conference’s YouTube channel.

Prior to the event, the league announced the results of its preseason poll.

Princeton, which has claimed the Ancient Eight title for the last six years, was picked first with 122 out of a possible 128 points and 10 first-place votes.  Columbia, which has tied for the top spot in each of the last two seasons, came in second with 110 points and five first-place votes.

Harvard, which has finished the last two years in third placed, was tabbed for third in 2025, earning 101 points and one first-place spot. 

Penn, the final participant in last year’s Ivy tournament, was picked fourth with 75 votes, while Brown, which finished last year tied with Penn for fourth, was four points back in fifth place.

Sixth place went to Yale, which was as high as third place in 2022, with 48 votes. 

While Cornell and Dartmouth ended last season tied for seventh place, the Big Red got the nod for seventh in this year’s poll with 30 points and the Big Green were eighth with 19 points.  

Below are highlights from this year’s virtual Media Day:

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No. 2 Columbia’s Ivy League Tournament title reach falls short again in 75-58 loss to No. 1 Princeton

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The Columbia women prepare to battle Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament championship on Saturday evening. (Photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – Even though the Columbia women were the No. 2 seed for the 2024 Ivy League Tournament, the Lions felt everything was going their way as team continued its quest for its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Unfortunately for the team and Light Blue fans, No. 1 Princeton used a strong inside game to cruise to a 75-58 victory and secure its five straight conference postseason title.

Columbia coach Megan Griffith’s crew graduated seven players, including three starters, from last year’s Ivy League regular season champion, and still captured its second straight league title. 

While last year’s squad buckled just enough from the end-of-season pressure, including an overtime win to close out the season against lower division Cornell and an overtime loss to Harvard in the Ivy tournament semifinal, to lose out on a chance to get to March Madness, this team seemed to embrace the challenges. 

First, Columbia beat Princeton at Levien by two on Feb. 24. Second, the Lions ran Cornell out of Newman Arena by 36 on the last day of the season. Third, they took down Harvard in a two-point win, which was not as close as the score would indicate, in the Ivy semifinal.

After the Tigers were taken to the wire by No. 4 Penn in Friday’s first semifinal, Columbia, buoyed by its passionate fanbase and home surroundings, appeared to be the slight favorite in the battle for Ancient Eight supremacy.

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No. 2 Columbia women’s basketball survives No. 3 Harvard, 63-61, to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

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For the third time in the last two postseasons, the Lions and Crimson tipped off to do battle Friday at Levien Gym. (Photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – In front of a partisan, sold-out crowd at Levien Gymnasium Friday, Ivy League Player of the Year Abbey Hsu used a 20-point, 14 rebound performance to lead her No. 2 Columbia Lions over No. 3 Harvard, 63-61, to set up a long-awaited final showdown with Princeton on Saturday night.

If Hsu, head coach Megan Griffith and the rest of the Lions can slay the Tigers, the program will earn its first-ever Ivy League Tournament title, as well as its inaugural berth in the NCAA Tournament.

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Columbia women’s basketball storms past Cornell to capture second straight regular season Ivy League title

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After needing overtime to beat Cornell and capture its first-ever Ivy League regular season championship last March, the Columbia women used a dominant second half to crush the Big Red, 82-46, and secure its second straight Ancient Eight title Saturday at Newman Arena.

The Lions (22-5, 13-1 Ivy), winners of 10 straight for the second time this season and 20 of their last 21, now head home to Morningside Heights, where they will host Ivy Madness on March 15-17.

“This was a really important moment for us, not just to win this game, but to put an exclamation point on our regular conference season and head into the Ivy League Tournament with some confidence,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith told ESPN+ immediately following the game.

Cornell (7-19, 1-13), meanwhile, completed its season with an eight-game losing streak and ended up tied for seventh in league play. 

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Columbia women’s basketball comes up short against No. 22 Duke

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Senior guard Abbey Hsu’s 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting weren’t quite enough for Columbia to top No. 22 Duke at Levien Gym Tuesday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

While the Columbia campus is divided over global events, most are united over the performance of the school’s athletic programs.

On Sunday, the women’s soccer team faced Rutgers in front of a raucous crowd during its NCAA Tournament first-round victory. Two days later, the Lions’ faithful (and Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris) packed Levien Gymnasium as the women’s basketball team welcomed Kara Lawson and Duke, the first time a top-25 team ever visited Morningside Heights.

Megan Griffith’s Light Blue squad went toe-to-toe with the No. 22 Blue Devils the entire evening but came up short in a 66-62 defeat. 

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Columbia women fall to Stony Brook in season opener

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Despite overcoming a 17-point deficit in the third quarter, the Columbia women went down in defeat in Monday night’s seasoner opener against Stony Brook, 85-73, at the Island Federal Credit Union.

Thanks to the graduation of eight players, including starters Kaitlyn Davis, Jaida Patrick and Hannah Pratt, the 2022-23 Ivy League co-champions and WNIT finalists entered the evening with more uncertainty than they had the last several years.

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Ivy hoops roundup – July 1, 2023

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As we enter the July 4th holiday weekend, we at Ivy Hoops Online wanted to round up some postseason updates:

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