Women's Basketball Opens With Winning Streak For The First Time Since 2015

Upper West Side NY

15 November, 2021

11:58 AM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY ADAM LANG AND REBECCA WACHEN NOVEMBER 14, 2021 Women's basketball kickstarted the 2021-22 season with three high-scoring victories, beating Hampton 78-56 in the home opener and defeating Davidson 87-78. The Lions wrapped up their Carolina road trip with a thrilling 82-78 fourth-quarter comeback win over ACC opponent Clemson University on Sunday afternoon. The win against the Tigers was only the team's second time defeating an ACC opponent. While the Lions brought home victories from each game, the games were very different. Columbia's defense stunned the Pirates from the very beginning on Tuesday, allowing just eight points in the first quarter and leading by 18 points at the half. Though Hampton found its rhythm in the third quarter, the Light Blue's offense kept up the momentum and sealed the victory in the fourth quarter after regaining defensive composure. The game at Davidson was close throughout. Columbia struggled with perimeter defense throughout the game, allowing Davidson to go 12-for-29 from behind the arc, whereas the Lions had a poor shooting night, with lead scorer sophomore guard Abbey Hsu going just 1-for-7 beyond the arc. However, going into the fourth quarter tied, Columbia elevated its defensive effort and limited Davidson to shooting 35 percent from the field while maintaining its own offensive efficiency, eventually winning comfortably by nine points. Hsu scored 22 points in each of the victories against Hampton and Davidson but had much better shooting form on Tuesday. This season, the NCAA extended the women's three-point line from 20' 9" to the international 22' 1.75" standard, and Hsu's early inconsistency from downtown might be her adjusting to the new regulations. The sophomore has been given a central role in the Lions' offense this season, and with her shot selection and frequency, it is safe to say that she has accumulated confidence from her rookie season success and has adapted comfortably to her role. "All my teammates were playing [with] a lot of confidence in me … and just giving me the green light," Hsu said. "Coach always says, we put the work in. So you know, why not take those shots?" Hsu showed her versatility in the Davidson game. She repeatedly attacked the basket and earned 10 trips to the charity stripe, making nine of those shots. Hsu averaged just under two free throws in the 2019-20 season and has been working to get more foul calls. She showed on Friday that she has made extensive progress. The team as a whole also prioritizes free throws in this season's offense. The Lions demonstrated their explosiveness in the exhibition match against New York University with 41 attempted free throws and continued to capitalize on those opportunities with 25 free throws on Tuesday and 30 on Friday. Moreover, the team made approximately 76 percent of those shots in the first two games. Free throws lifted Columbia above Davidson, which only had eight chances at the line. In the scrappy fourth quarter, each team took just 14 shots as defense picked up, but the Light Blue had seven additional free throws. "For us, the big thing is that we could put pressure on teams," head coach Megan Griffith said. "We're not a team that walks the ball up. We play really fast." Another great asset for the Lions is their depth. Junior forward Kaitlyn Davis got into early foul trouble against Davidson, playing for only five minutes in the first half and 18 minutes in total. First-year forward Noa Comesaña filled in for Davis on both ends of the floor, contributing 10 points on five-for-six shooting. The Lions' greater depth is at the guard position. Junior forward Sienna Durr has strong perimeter skills and the ability to handle the ball, easily filling in for Hsu when she is on the bench, while new recruits junior guard Jaida Patrick and first-year guard Kitty Henderson are keystones of the second lineup. "I think we're really deep at the guard position, and it takes the pressure off of everybody else," Griffith said. Henderson did not play in the first half against Hampton, but played 12 of the 20 minutes in the second half, recording five points. Her breakout night was on Friday against Davidson, as Patrick continued to struggle with her shooting. Henderson shot 6-for-10 from the field in 21 minutes to score a team-second of 16 points. "I'm expecting her to have a very good career here," Griffith said. "She's had two really, really strong performances back to back. … What's most exciting about watching her growth right now is that she has been so consistent defensively for us. And I think that is just showing that if you can perform every day and have consistency on [defense], offense will come." Henderson also performed well for the Light Blue on Sunday against Clemson (1-1) with another 16-point performance, including six in the fourth to spur the Lions' comeback. The Light Blue was not intimidated by Sunday's Power Five opponent, coming into the matchup with an early lead. Durr controlled much of the offense in the first five minutes, scoring 10 of Columbia's first 14 points to start the game. Durr continued to play a crucial role in Columbia's offense for the remainder of the game, as she was the Lions' leading scorer with 19 points. However, the Lions did not retain their defensive discipline from the Davidson game. Early in the game, they got into foul trouble with three players coming into the halftime break with three fouls apiece. The Tigers were given 29 chances at the foul line just in the first 20 minutes. As the Lions entered the second half, their foul trouble continued. However, the Tigers also faced trouble with fouls, with both teams going in the bonus. Despite the Tigers ending the half with a 14-point lead, the Lions came out strong, decreasing Clemson's lead to just four at one point in the third quarter. Hsu, who had three fouls at the start of the third quarter, continued to be a crucial contributor for the Lions, adding eight points in the quarter. "Coming into halftime I thought we needed the break to compose, get ourselves back together," Griffith said. "They did a great job executing down the stretch and even when things didn't go their way, they rode it out and just battled to really [grit] their heels in to get some major stops that we needed." Even with Clemson maintaining a steady lead throughout the third quarter, the Lions left everything on the court in the fourth, getting the margin down to 1 when Comesaña made a layup with a little over six minutes left in the game. Patrick followed Comesaña's shot with a jump shot that gave the Lions their first lead of the game since the first quarter. The remainder of the game included lots of back-and-forth action. The tide turned in Columbia's favor when junior guard Carly Rivera made a crucial three-pointer with 21 seconds left to give the Light Blue a 79-77 lead. Following Rivera's three, the Tigers got into more foul trouble, giving Rivera six more chances at the line. Rivera made three of the six shots, earning the Lions a four-point lead with no time for the Tigers to recover. "The win was the icing on the cake, but it was the battle they showed," Griffith said following the win. "It's going to set us up for whatever's next." Sunday's 82-78 victory over Clemson is the team's first win over an ACC opponent since 2017. The Lions will hit the road on Thursday for a battle against Patriot League opponent Lafayette College at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Senior staff writer Adam Lang can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator Sports on Twitter @CUSpecSports. Staff writer Rebecca Wachen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @rebecca_wachen. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.