In the hostile confines of Lavietes Pavilion, Columbia women’s basketball squeaked by Harvard, 58–55, in a marquee Ivy League matchup Saturday. The Lions (10-5, 1-1 Ivy) dominated the first 21 minutes of play before a furious Crimson (8-7, 1-1) third-quarter comeback led to a vigorous fourth-quarter battle.
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Sizing up Columbia women’s basketball’s shocking loss to Cornell to open Ivy play
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.
Yale men’s basketball axes Albany to notch Division I-highest 11th win
Yale men’s basketball downed Albany, 93-82, in the MGM Springfield Basketball Hall Of Fame Classic in Springfield Wednesday to become the first team in the country with 11 wins. Yale (11-1) entered the game against Albany (3-8) tied with Duke at 10.
“I thought that the game went along pretty much as I thought it would,” coach James Jones said. “They (Albany) were really patient.”
Perri Page’s double-double and late layup give Columbia women’s basketball first Quad 1 win
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — It wasn’t pretty, but Columbia got its biggest road win of the young season.
The Lions (7-4) took the short ride to South Orange, New Jersey and beat Seton Hall (6-2) on a Perri Page layup with 0.7 seconds left, 54–53. Facing an unrelenting Seton Hall defense, the Lions never led in the second half until the final second.
Columbia women’s basketball goes 1–2 against tough Cancun Challenge competition
At the Cancun Challenge, Columbia women’s basketball played much improved basketball against quality opponents, as junior guard and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Riley Weiss rounded into midseason shape.
Prior to the tournament, Weiss averaged 16.2 points per game. In these three games, she averaged over 27, notably shooting 48.3% overall and 42.3% from three, both numbers higher than any previous single game.
In three days of play, the Lions (4-4) lost a close shootout to Kansas State (5–3), 95–92; powered past perennial mid-major power South Dakota State (6–2), 80–67; and lost 80–63 against Courtney Banghart-led No. 12 North Carolina (8–1).
Columbia men’s basketball overcomes injuries to thump Fairfield
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After going 1-13 in Ivy League play last season, the Columbia men’s basketball team was picked dead last in the 2025-26 media poll, and it wasn’t particularly close.
The all-knowing computers disagreed a bit, taking into account Columbia’s solid nonconference campaign last season and the fact the Lions returned a decent amount of minutes in a year where many others did not.
The story of the 2025-26 Ivy League basketball season has barely begun, but it’s starting to look like the media projections are in big trouble.
Columbia women’s basketball gets schooled by Saint Joseph’s in Education Day defeat
In front of a boisterous Education Day crowd of New York City schoolkids, Columbia women’s basketball struggled to get anything going and went down to a 66-48 defeat to Saint Joseph’s at Levien Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.
With the win, the Hawks improved to 4-1 on the season and get ready for a Monday Big 5 matchup against Penn. Meanwhile, the Lions lost their second consecutive game and fall to 2-2 on the year.
Kent: Does Ivy League hear alarm bells with another departure?
With the news that Alexander Lesburt Jr. is pulling a Caden Pierce at Brown men’s basketball, sitting out his senior season and entering the portal, the alarm bells are getting louder and louder.
First, as to Lesburt. He was expected to be a key player for Mike Martin after averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season and is a skilled three-point shooter. But he is no longer on the team, Brown announced Tuesday, noting he left the program to preserve his final year of eligibility.
Numerous Ivy players in basketball and other sports are exploring this three-year graduation route to obtain a coveted Ivy League degree and get another payday year elsewhere.
Columbia women’s basketball falls to sharpshooting Richmond
In a battle between two of the nation’s premier mid-major teams, Richmond women’s basketball used hot three-point shooting to come away from Levien Gymnasium with a 77-67 win Saturday night.
Both teams, which made it to the NCAA Tournament and won a game last year, have aspirations of returning to the Big Dance in 2026. A victory for the Spiders (3-1) helps their overall resume, in case they cannot secure the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid in March. Despite the unfavorable result, the Lions (2-1), as often is the case, will find valuable lessons as they move forward with their difficult nonconference schedule.
Columbia men’s basketball bests New Haven in Kevin Hovde’s debut at the helm
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Contrary to popular belief, Friday’s Columbia season opener at Division I neophyte New Haven was not Kevin Hovde’s first shot at being a head coach.
No, back when he was a young assistant on the Upper West Side from 2011 to 2016 under Kyle Smith, there was an opportunity to schedule a handful of junior varsity games with Columbia’s big roster and Hovde drew the short straw to roam the sidelines as the man in charge.
“We had a three game schedule, we played the Army and Navy JV, and I want to say a prep school,” Hovde said. “But I went 2-1, so I had a winning record, even though I did lose one.”