Schachner: Appreciate this women's basketball moment

Upper West Side NY

25 February, 2022

3:43 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MILES SCHACHNER FEBRUARY 24, 2022 Levien Gymnasium was as packed and excited as I have ever seen it on Wednesday night. Students were not just lining up to fill the gym because of the free T-shirt giveaway. For once, meaningful Ivy League basketball was being played on Columbia's campus, and the students' excitement reflected that all-too-rare reality. Though the mighty Princeton Tigers marched into the frenzied gym undeterred and handed the women's basketball team its soundest defeat of the season, fans should not hang their heads over the outcome on Wednesday. The much-anticipated weeknight contest between the two best teams in the Ivy League signaled the start of a new era for women's basketball—one that should not go unnoticed. When was the last time fans were excited about Columbia basketball? The men's team has not posted a winning season since 2016, and before 2020, the women's squad had not managed a winning record since 2010. Standout players like Mike Smith, CC '19, and Camille Zimmerman, CC '18, have been worth watching, but neither program has been able to electrify campus with a team that has a serious chance of winning the conference in quite some time. The only Ivy League championship between the two programs remains men's basketball's 1968 crown. The excitement that filled the gym on Wednesday night matters. It matters because women's basketball has built a talented, compelling roster of players that is set up for sustained success. Junior forward Kaitlyn Davis and sophomore guard Abbey Hsu headline the team's attack, and both players deserve consideration for Ivy League Player of the Year. Furthermore, first-year guard Kitty Henderson is a strong candidate for the conference's Rookie of the Year. Most recently, junior guard Jaida Patrick, who transferred from Duke University, has begun to find success with the Lions and has cracked the starting lineup. At the center of the squad is head coach Megan Griffith, CC '07. Griffith has been at the forefront of her alma mater's effort to revitalize its women's basketball team for the past six years, and this year's Lions are arguably the best team the program has ever seen. Columbia has broken myriad records, including the most wins and Ivy League wins in program history. As good as Columbia is, Princeton has always been more successful. The Tigers, who have not lost a conference game in three years and own 15 Ancient Eight titles, are an Ivy League juggernaut. On Wednesday, the Lions' defensive game plan successfully shut down the Ivy League's second-leading scorer, Princeton guard Abby Meyers. But the team's efforts did not matter, as Princeton guard Kaitlyn Chen dropped a dominant 27 points, revealing the type of depth the Tigers roster possesses as her top-seeded team cruised to a 20-point victory on Columbia's home court. Despite the loss, the contest against Princeton still meant something. Before this season, a weeknight matchup against the best team in the Ivy League would have been chalked up as an afterthought—an easy win for the dominant program. On Wednesday, the crowd of 1,913 was the fullest Levien has been for a men's or women's game this year. Students would not have taken time out of their schedules to watch a game like this three years ago. But the Lions' performance this year generated significant buzz for the game, which was nationally televised and picked up coverage on local news networks. These kinds of seasons do not come around very often. The Lions certainly should not be picked third in the conference preseason poll again, as this season has established a winning expectation for the group. A team that shatters expectations and records like the Light Blue has done this season is uncommon, and the group will be hard-pressed to match this performance next year. This may not be Columbia's year to win the Ivy League, and if Princeton maintains this kind of dominance, next year may not be either. But this season has been special, and we should appreciate it while it lasts. Sports Editor Miles Schachner can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @milesschachner. To respond to this column or to submit a guest column for Spectator Sports, contact [email protected]. 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.