Women’s basketball completed its best season ever, sweeping its doubleheader against Yale and Brown to place clear third in the Ivy League.
In Columbia’s matchup with Yale (13-15, 8-6 Ivy) earlier in the year, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Lions with 47 first-half points, on their way to an 81-74 win over Columbia. This time, with the inside track to third place at stake, the Light Blue defense smothered the Bulldog’s offense, holding the team to 47 points for the entire game in a 64-47 win.
In the opening minutes, it was immediately clear that the tone of this game was different. The Lions forced eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play, which allowed them to jump ahead 28-12 with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Senior Sara Yee, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, was the key cog in the Lions’ defensive dominance. Yee relentlessly hounded Yale guard Yoyo Greenfield—who went off for 20 points in the two teams’ first matchup—for the entire game, limiting her to two points this time around. She finished with a game-high four steals in 34 minutes of play.
This wasn’t possible in the first game because Kathleen Barry, Columbia’s other ace perimeter defender, missed the first meeting with a knee injury. With Barry available to guard Yale freshman Megan Vasquez—who scored 19 for Yale last time—the Light Blue defense was significantly more effective.
Offensively, reserve guard Melissa Shafer scored 13 points, including a 7-0 run by herself in the decisive first half.
In that first half, senior guard Danielle Browne connected on a contested layup at the buzzer to give Columbia a 33-21 halftime lead.
In recent weeks, Browne has been on a scoring barrage. She was no different this week, lighting up the scoreboard with 17 points, most of which came on an array of spectacular drives to the basket.
“She’s among the Ivy League leaders in assists. As we went through the second round of league play, people have started to play her for the pass and not necessarily respect her as a player capable of scoring,” head coach Paul Nixon said. “And I think she’s taken advantage of the way teams have been trying to defend her.”
Her penetration contributed to Columbia outscoring Yale 36-10 for points scored in the paint. Browne also dished out a game-high five assists.
The second half was the same story, with a Barry trey 18 minutes into the half expanding Columbia’s lead to 18.
Columbia never trailed in its 64-47 victory, and convincingly broke its third-place tie with Yale.
Vasquez led the Yale team with 13 points. As a team, Yale shot just 34 percent on the court, and committed 24 turnovers.
Columbia all-Ivy forward Judie Lomax was spectacular the entire game, posting 21 points and 21 rebounds. The nation’s leading rebounder had eight offensive rebounds, which equaled the number of offensive boards the entire Bulldogs team grabbed.
The next game versus Brown (8-20, 5-9 Ivy) began by recognizing the team’s seniors. On Senior Night, Browne, Yee, and Caitlin Stachon were recognized for their commitment to the team.
“It was amazing,” Yee said of the attendance. “The energy in the gym—it was just a great way to go out, with friends and family all in the crowd.”
“I really want to thank every single person that came out tonight to support these seniors. The energy was tremendous from the opening, when we first announced the three seniors,” Nixon said. “It was so, so clear how much everyone that was there was really into the game and wanted to see the seniors go out on a high note with the win.”
Right after tip-off, the seniors immediately established themselves, with Browne and Stachon scoring the team’s first seven points to take a 7-3 lead.
Lomax carried the load from there, besting her strong performance from the day before. The Ivy League’s leading scorer dominated the first half, pouring 12 points over the next 10 minutes of play to give the Light Blue a 27-14 advantage over the Bears.
Not to be flustered, the Brown squad responded with an 11-0 run to trim the lead to two.
“I’d like to give Brown a lot of credit. … They’ve made tremendous strides with their program,” Nixon said. “They withstood our emotional tidal wave from Senior Night that started the game, and made a nice run there in the first half to really make it competitive.”
However, Lomax responded again, connecting on a baseline jumper to give Columbia a 29-25 halftime lead.
Following intermission, Columbia and Brown both came out swinging. But at the 10-minute mark, with the Lions clinging to a 39-31 lead, Browne delivered the knockout blow, going on a 7-0 run by herself, to give the Light Blue a 46-31 advantage with eight minutes to play, and removing any doubt as to the outcome of the game.
At the 41-second mark, the Columbia seniors were taken out of the game, receiving strong applause from the boisterous crowd.
“We have a lot of good support. A lot of people came out,” Stachon said on what made Senior Night so special. “Just a feeling that this was it.”
The seniors all finished the game with solid performances. Browne scored 15 points and recorded a resounding second-half block on Brown’s Aileen Daniels. Stachon, as has been the case her entire collegiate career, displayed great hustle and recorded a team-high three steals. Yee, the first-ever Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, helped hold Brown’s three starting guards to just 11 points. In addition, Yee was a key contributor to Columbia limiting Brown to 41 points, setting Columbia’s season mark for points allowed by the opposition.
However, Lomax was the story of the night, finishing with her second straight 20-20 performance, recording 20 points and a program-record 27 rebounds. With her efforts, she concludes the season with a nation-best 14.2 rebounds-per-game average.
“For Judie Lomax to lead the nation in rebounding for two consecutive seasons is unprecedented in Division I women’s basketball. … When she did it last year, we didn’t win as many games, we didn’t play as tough a schedule,” Nixon said. “But when you look at what we’ve done this year in terms of how strong the Ivy League is, in terms of the nonconference teams that we’ve played… You look at the schedule that we’ve played, and this record for her is legitimate. She has played the highest level of Division I competition.”
Lomax also broke Columbia’s all-time steals mark at the Brown game, finishing the season with a conference-best 72 steals.
Browne broke Columbia’s record for most games played, despite often playing injured. The Brown game was indicative of her resolve, as she played through a first-half ankle injury to complete her Senior Night. Browne also finishes her career second in Columbia history in steals and fourth in assists.
“It’s kind of sad because it’s the last game possibly of my career,” Browne said. “But I was happy about my performance and representing Columbia one last time.”
With the weekend sweep, women’s basketball completes its season with an 18-10 record, 9-5 in conference play. Columbia as a program completes its most successful season ever, ending the year in clear third in the Ivy League standings, which is women’s basketball’s highest-ever finish. The team also achieved a school-record 18 wins.
“Coach Nixon and his staff have done a fabulous job. We had great leadership from our three seniors—we’re going to miss them terribly,” Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education M. Dianne Murphy said. “I’m just really, really, really proud of what this Columbia women’s basketball team has accomplished, and our entire University community should be proud as well.”
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