Columbia women show how to take care of business against Fairleigh Dickinson

Junior guard Abbey Hsu led all scorers with 25 points in Columbia’s WNIT opening-round win over Fairleigh Dickinson Friday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

Postseason wins are never to be taken for granted.

Columbia women’s basketball was expected to prevail in its WNIT opening-round matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson at Levien Gym Friday, and it did just that in a ho-hum 69-53 victory.

But as the Knights fell to the Lions Friday night, their No. 16-seeded men’s counterparts shocked the basketball world by toppling No. 1 Purdue in the Round of 64 in a 63-58 triumph.

It says a lot about the advancement of Columbia (24-5, 12-2 Ivy) under coach Megan Griffith that the Lions have transitioned from going without a postseason win for its first 36 years in Division I to being well-positioned to make a deep WNIT run for the second season in a row.

And the Lions made history of their own against Fairleigh Dickinson (24-8, 14-2 NEC) Friday night.

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2024 Ivy League Tournaments moved from Brown to Columbia

Levien Gym will host the 2024 Ivy League Tournaments, the league announced Wednesday. (Columbia Athletics)

In a surprise Wednesday afternoon announcement, the Ivy League office stated that the 2024 Ivy League men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be held at Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium. Specific dates for the four-day event have not been posted.

The announcement signals a substantial change in the Ivy League’s rotation of tournament locations set in 2019. Brown was slated to host the tournaments next in 2024.

The Ivy League attributed the move to Levien Gym to gym renovations being finished sooner than expected when the original tourney rotation was announced in a statement Wednesday.  

“The future of the rotation remains under continuous evaluation,” Ivy League spokesman Matt Panto told Ivy Hoops Online in an email Wednesday. “The league is excited to bring the tournaments to Princeton next month and New York City in 2024.”

Brown Athletics did not respond to a request for comment.

“New York City is home to passionate and dedicated alumni and fans from all eight Ivy League institutions,” Ivy League executive director Robin Harris said in Wednesday’s statement. “Coupled with the energy of March Madness and the enthusiasm that this event has built over just a short period of time, the league could not be more excited to host Ivy Madness in the Big Apple.”

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Princeton women pull even in season series and at top of Ivy standings with Columbia in 74-56 clinic

Princeton senior guard Julia Cunningham reached the 1,000-point career scoring mark in her team’s 74-56 victory at Columbia Saturday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)

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:

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Columbia women take revenge on Penn in 72-50 win

Senior guard/forward Kaitlyn Davis notched 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in just 23 minutes in Columbia’s win over Penn at Levien Gym Friday. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)
A month after suffering their only Ivy defeat, Columbia’s women exacted sweet revenge on Penn, 72-50, in front of a jubilant home crowd of 2,100 at Levien Gym Friday.
The win keeps the Lions (18-3, 7-1 Ivy) in first place ahead of a Saturday afternoon game hosting Princeton’s Tigers (15-5, 6-2), who will be seeking revenge of their own for their last loss, an overtime thriller at Jadwin.

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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 hit upon keys to success in Ivy-opening upset of Yale

Princeton women’s basketball lost its first Ivy game in 43 contests dating back 1,423 days Saturday afternoon.

And it wasn’t even the biggest Ivy hoops upset of the day.

That accomplishment belonged to Columbia men’s basketball, which shrugged off its last-place projection in the Ivy preseason media poll to topple league rankings leader Yale at Levien Gym, 62-60.

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Columbia women bow out in WNIT Elite Eight loss to Seton Hall, 78-75, ending best season in program history

Columbia sophomore guard Abbey Hsu got off to a hot start in the WNIT Elite Eight after a cold shooting performance in the Sweet 16, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 78-75 loss to Seton Hall Monday night. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

The best season in Columbia women’s basketball history is over.

Columbia came up on the low end of a see-saw showdown at Levien Gym Monday night, bowing out to Seton Hall, 78-75, in the Elite Eight round of the WNIT.

The Lions’ appearance in the WNIT national quarterfinals came after wins in each of the tournament’s first three rounds – the program’s first postseason wins since it joined Division I in 1986.

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Columbia women to host Boston College in WNIT Sweet 16

Columbia fans will get another chance to see their team led by sophomore guard Abbey Hsu (20) play at Levien Gym Thursday night when the Lions take on Boston College in the WNIT Sweet 16. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

After a road triumph at Old Dominion in the second round of the WNIT, Columbia is coming home.

The Lions will host Boston College in the Sweet 16 round of the WNIT Thursday at 7 p.m.

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Abbey Hsu makes history as Columbia women shoot past Holy Cross, 80-69, in first round of WNIT

Abbey Hsu etched her name all over the record books in Columbia’s first-round WNIT win Wednesday night, setting the Ivy League record for three-pointers in a season and a program career record for threes. (photo by Erica Denhoff)

It was a historic night for Columbia women’s basketball.

The Lions won their first non-Ivy League Tournament postseason game since joining Division I in 1986 Wednesday night by topping Holy Cross at Levien Gym, 80-69, in the first round of the WNIT as All-Ivy first-teamer Abbey Hsu made a lot of history of her own.

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Cornell men finish regular season with convincing victory over Columbia

Saturday’s regular season finale didn’t mean much for the Cornell men, but in a different way than they are used to. The Big Red had already clinched the No. 4 seed in next weekend’s Ivy League Tournament and could not improve their standing in any way.

But Cornell did gain more of one thing — momentum.

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