Four Columbia Basketball Players Receive All-Ivy Accolades

While neither Columbia basketball team went on to postseason play, some Lions have been in the news as of late. Four Lions—one from the men’s team and three from the women’s side—garnered individual accolades as top players in the Ivy League this season.

After a stellar senior campaign, Light Blue forward John Baumann was named to the All-Ivy First team. Baumann averaged 16.1 points per game during the 2007-2008 season, good for second-best in the Ancient Eight, but he did even more for the Lions during conference play. His 17.8 points per contest was a greater offensive output than that of any of his Ivy rivals. Baumann finished his collegiate career with 1,298 points, making him the sixth-highest scorer in the history of Columbia men’s basketball.

Baumann’s overall field goal percentage this season was 51.4, a number that increased to 52.9 in Ivy competition. Both were the second-highest percentages in the league. Over his four-year campaign, Baumann hit 463 field goals and 302 free throws. Of course, the multi-dimensional forward also made his mark on the boards. He was second in the league with 6.7 rebounds per game and was able to improve in this area against conference opponents, upping his average to a fourth-best 7.1 boards per contest. Baumann ended his four-year campaign with 556 rebounds, the sixth-most in Columbia history.

On the women’s side, senior guard Michele Gage and sophomore guard Danielle Browne took home All-Ivy Second team honors. Gage, who sat out her junior season with a torn ACL, came back to lead the Lions with 12.3 points per game this season. Like Baumann, her offensive accomplishments during league play were even more impressive. Gage was the third-highest scorer in the Ancient Eight during conference matchups, contributing 15.6 points per contest for the Light Blue. She hit the 20-point mark in six Ivy games and was named the Ivy Player of the Week twice this year. Her 61 three-pointers this season were the most by a Columbia women’s basketball player in a single campaign.

Coming off an All-Ivy Rookie team selection in the 2006-2007 season, Browne finished this year as the Lions’ second-best scorer with 10 points per contest. She also improved against Ivy competition, averaging 11.4 points per game. An all-around player, Browne led the Light Blue with 116 assists and 57 steals. She was the only Columbia player to start all 28 of the team’s games.

Freshman center Lauren Dwyer became a member of this season’s All-Ivy Rookie team by a unanimous vote. She earned Ivy Rookie of the Week honors four times this season and was the Lions’ third-highest scorer with 9.2 points per contest. Dwyer set the tone for Columbia on defense with a team-high 24 blocks. In addition, she shot 72.9 percent at the foul line, the sixth-best output in the conference.

Cornell swept the Ivy Player of the Year awards, as sophomore guard Louis Dale received the honor among the men and junior forward Jeomi Maduka was recognized among the women. Penn forward Tyler Bernardini and Dartmouth forward Brittney Smith were selected as the respective Ivy Rookies of the Year.