Columbia approached last month’s game against Princeton because it did most games.
The Lions didn’t put any unnecessary pressure on themselves to take care of their perfect Ivy League record.
But this time around?
The emotions and stakes were too high to disregard.
“This can be a big one,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith told reporters after practice this week. “We all know what the standings are.”
First place within the Ivy League — and potentially the conference’s regular-season title — was on the road Saturday when Columbia traveled to Princeton.
There was a moment when it felt like Columbia (19-5, 10-1 Ivy) was doomed.
The momentum swung heavily toward Princeton (18-6, 9-2) because the home crowd got an increasing number of into the sport within the third quarter.
The sport was slipping away as Princeton took its largest lead of six points into the ultimate quarter.
But Riley Weiss’ heroic 16-point fourth quarter modified the sport’s trajectory and resulted in Columbia’s 64-60 thrilling win, which snapped Princeton’s 30-game home winning streak.
Weiss began the sport much like how she ended it. Weiss made two quick 3-pointers in the primary quarter and helped give Columbia an early 10-2 lead.
Within the fourth quarter, she drained the game-tying 3-pointer from the left wing — and he or she didn’t let up until the ultimate horn sounded.
Weiss picked the pocket of Parker Hill and took it to the basket for what was a three-point play that gave Columbia a 49-44 lead.
Princeton tried to shoot its way back into the sport.
However it seemed Weiss and Columbia at all times had a solution.
Weiss finished with a career-high 34 points, including five 3-pointers.
Kitty Henderson added 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and 4 steals.
Give Princeton credit, because the Tigers took Lions forward Susie Rafiu out of the sport offensively with double teams.
The Tigers, who outsized the Lions, also looked like orange-and-white traffic cones blocking access to Columbia’s basket.
However the speed of Weiss and Henderson was sometimes too hard to match.
Saturday was exactly how Griffith wanted her team to reply after suffering a troublesome loss to Harvard last Sunday.
Griffith attributed poor end-of-game execution as one in all the explanations Columbia did not get the job done against Harvard.
But when the sport was within the balance late Saturday and after Princeton took a timeout, Weiss fed Henderson, who drilled a 3-pointer to present Columbia the 60-55 lead with 18 seconds left in the sport.
Rafiu and Henderson embraced and a “Let’s go Lions” chant broke out from the section that housed about 100 Lions fans behind the visitor’s bench.
Princeton made it interesting. Cecelia Collins fouled Fadima Tall on her made 3-point field goal, which cut Columbia’s result in two with 4 seconds remaining.
But Tall missed the free throw and Columbia secured the ball and Weiss made two free throws to ice the sport with one second left.
Columbia is now in sole possession of first place within the Ivy League and, with three of the 4 bottom conference foes left on the Lions’ schedule, Saturday’s triumph could thoroughly have secured Columbia the No. 1 seed within the conference tournament.
The Lions host Brown on Friday and Yale on March 1 before their season finale against Cornell on March 8.
Columbia approached last month’s game against Princeton because it did most games.
The Lions didn’t put any unnecessary pressure on themselves to take care of their perfect Ivy League record.
But this time around?
The emotions and stakes were too high to disregard.
“This can be a big one,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith told reporters after practice this week. “We all know what the standings are.”
First place within the Ivy League — and potentially the conference’s regular-season title — was on the road Saturday when Columbia traveled to Princeton.
There was a moment when it felt like Columbia (19-5, 10-1 Ivy) was doomed.
The momentum swung heavily toward Princeton (18-6, 9-2) because the home crowd got an increasing number of into the sport within the third quarter.
The sport was slipping away as Princeton took its largest lead of six points into the ultimate quarter.
But Riley Weiss’ heroic 16-point fourth quarter modified the sport’s trajectory and resulted in Columbia’s 64-60 thrilling win, which snapped Princeton’s 30-game home winning streak.
Weiss began the sport much like how she ended it. Weiss made two quick 3-pointers in the primary quarter and helped give Columbia an early 10-2 lead.
Within the fourth quarter, she drained the game-tying 3-pointer from the left wing — and he or she didn’t let up until the ultimate horn sounded.
Weiss picked the pocket of Parker Hill and took it to the basket for what was a three-point play that gave Columbia a 49-44 lead.
Princeton tried to shoot its way back into the sport.
However it seemed Weiss and Columbia at all times had a solution.
Weiss finished with a career-high 34 points, including five 3-pointers.
Kitty Henderson added 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and 4 steals.
Give Princeton credit, because the Tigers took Lions forward Susie Rafiu out of the sport offensively with double teams.
The Tigers, who outsized the Lions, also looked like orange-and-white traffic cones blocking access to Columbia’s basket.
However the speed of Weiss and Henderson was sometimes too hard to match.
Saturday was exactly how Griffith wanted her team to reply after suffering a troublesome loss to Harvard last Sunday.
Griffith attributed poor end-of-game execution as one in all the explanations Columbia did not get the job done against Harvard.
But when the sport was within the balance late Saturday and after Princeton took a timeout, Weiss fed Henderson, who drilled a 3-pointer to present Columbia the 60-55 lead with 18 seconds left in the sport.
Rafiu and Henderson embraced and a “Let’s go Lions” chant broke out from the section that housed about 100 Lions fans behind the visitor’s bench.
Princeton made it interesting. Cecelia Collins fouled Fadima Tall on her made 3-point field goal, which cut Columbia’s result in two with 4 seconds remaining.
But Tall missed the free throw and Columbia secured the ball and Weiss made two free throws to ice the sport with one second left.
Columbia is now in sole possession of first place within the Ivy League and, with three of the 4 bottom conference foes left on the Lions’ schedule, Saturday’s triumph could thoroughly have secured Columbia the No. 1 seed within the conference tournament.
The Lions host Brown on Friday and Yale on March 1 before their season finale against Cornell on March 8.
