6 players to watch as women's basketball begins Ivy League play

Upper West Side NY

12 January, 2022

2:50 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY OWEN TESORO • JANUARY 11, 2022, 1:02 AM Columbia women's basketball returned to the court in October for the first time since March 2020 with an 89-55 exhibition game win against New York University (10-0). The Lions (10-3, 1-0 Ivy) followed the NYU game with five consecutive victories, racking up wins against the likes of Clemson University (6-9) and Georgetown University (6-4) before shutting down the University of Delaware (7-4) and Marist College (3-8). Following their Ivy League opening win against Yale, the Lions seem poised to contend for an Ancient Eight title. Here are six players to watch out for. Abbey Hsu, guard During her senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida, sophomore Abbey Hsu led the Raiders to district and regional championships. Hsu emerged as a star in her first year, earning the All-Met Division I Rookie of the Year award while leading all Ivy League rookies (and ranking fourth in the conference overall) in points per game. After losing the 2020-21 season to the pandemic, Hsu has picked up right where she left off. The sharpshooter is second in the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game through the Light Blue's first 13 contests. This includes a season-high 27 points performance against the University of Delaware. The Lions will continue to lean on Hsu as an offensive creator. Kaitlyn Davis, guard and forward Junior Kaitlyn Davis's dominant play is nothing new. At Connecticut's Greenwich Academy, Davis joined the varsity team as an eighth grader, averaging 16.6 points per game against competitors much older than her and scoring 1,305 points from eighth grade through her junior year. For the Lions, Davis has been a cornerstone of the starting lineup. She ranks in the top 10 of the Ivy League with 13.4 points per game, including a 23-point outburst in the Lions' loss to Stony Brook University. The recent Ivy League Player of the Week has also made an impact on the defensive end, ranking in the top 10 in the Ancient Eight in blocks, steals, and rebounds. Davis will continue to be a critical inside presence as the Lions move through conference play. Sienna Durr, guard and forward During her first year, junior Sienna Durr set the Ivy League on fire. Setting the Columbia first-year scoring record with her 392 points, Durr won Ivy League Rookie of the Year and became the first Columbia rookie to collect First or Second Team All-Ivy League honors. Durr was selected once again to the All-Ivy Second Team her sophomore year. However, after losing last season to COVID-19, Durr has returned as a veteran leader on the team. The Iowa native has continued an exceptional level of play, putting up an average of 9.2 points per game. Kitty Henderson, guard First-year Kitty Henderson came to Columbia after a season of professional basketball in the Women's National Basketball League in Australia for the Sydney Uni Flames. The former pro has not disappointed thus far. Henderson's 9.5 points per game puts her in the top 20 in the Ivy League, and her lockdown defense has proven to be a valuable asset to the Lions. Head coach Megan Griffith has reserved high praise for Henderson, calling her "as tough as they come" and "the most consistent guard in [the Lions'] rotation." Carly Rivera, point guard Junior Carly Rivera picked up where she left off after a lost 2020-21 season. Quickly gaining the trust of Griffith, Rivera played in all 27 contests her rookie season, leading Ivy League play in assists per game. This season, Rivera has proven to be a critical cog in the Lions' league-leading offense: The junior point guard currently tops the Ivy League assist table with 6.1 assists per game. Noa Comesaña, forward and center First-year Noa Comesaña comes to Morningside Heights from Vigo, Spain, where she played for both the Spanish national team and the Celta Vigo U18 squad, appearing in eight Galician championships and five Spanish championships. The rookie forward and center put up her highest point total in her second collegiate game, putting 10 on the board against Davidson College. Her development as the season progresses will be something to keep an eye on. The Lions began Ivy League play with a 65-55 home victory against Yale (8-6, 1-1 Ivy). Despite their matches against Princeton (9-4, 2-0 Ivy) and Penn (6-7, 1-0 Ivy) being postponed, they travel to Cambridge to face Harvard (7-8, 1-2 Ivy) this Saturday, Jan. 15. Note: this story was originally published in December and updated in January to reflect the team's latest statistics and record. 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.