The Columbia women’s basketball team hoped to get off to a strong start this semester before entering conference play against a deep Ivy League.
Thus far, the Lions have looked strong scoring in the post and collecting rebounds, thanks in large part to the addition of transfer Judie Lomax, who averaged 18 points and 16 rebounds per game last week.
However, despite returning most of their starters, the team has been plagued by turnovers. While the players are forcing many turnovers themselves, this does not outweigh the impact of their own miscues.
In looking at their 3-4 record, most of the wins came when the Lions minimized their mistakes, while the losses resulted from sloppy play.
In their opening matchup against Oakland, Columbia could not get into a solid flow as the Light Blue turned the ball over 25 times. Meanwhile, Oakland played smarter ball and only gave up the ball a total of nine times. That type of turnover margin hurts any team in its effort to establish an offensive rhythm.
In their loss to Delaware, it was not turnovers that plagued the Lions but rather poor shooting. Had the offense been able to hit their shots from the field, the Light Blue could have come back to New York with a 1-1 record. After beating St. Francis, the Lions reverted to old habits, losing to Long Island in the opening rounds of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic. They committed 21 turnovers to Long Island’s 15.
The Light Blue then went on a two-game winning streak by cutting down on turnovers, only to turn the ball over 10 times in its most recent game, a 69-59 loss to Drake.
In Light Blue wins, they hold a plus-seven turnover margin, while in their losses, they have turned the ball over 28 times more than their opponents. If the Lions can manage to keep their turnovers under control, this should allow them to have a strong league season.
Although the Light Blue has had a problem with turnovers, they do have some of the strongest post play in the league. The Lions are led by their front-court players offensively and on the glass. Lomax has led the team in rebounding in all of its contests this year, and grabbed 19 rebounds against Wagner, tying her for the seventh-most rebounds in a single game in program history. She has also managed to collect four double-doubles in only seven games.
Lauren Dwyer has also picked up from where she left off last season, playing aggressively on the boards and in the paint. The other starting forward adding to the Lions’ post strength is Chelsea Frazier. Frazier has been a consistent rebounder since arriving at Columbia and is currently second on the team with a total of 43 rebounds.
However, the turnovers cannot be blamed solely on the guards. Lomax and Dwyer ranked second and third on the team in turnovers, trailing Danielle Browne. Meanwhile, point guard Sara Yee has just nine turnovers.
Yee and Browne have attempted to make up for the Lions’ turnovers on the defensive end and with strong passing. They have combined for 24 steals and 39 assists, leading the team in both categories.
The key for the rest of the Lions’ season and conference play is to figure out a way to maintain their interior advantage without turning the ball over.
With size and skill up front, they need to continue to feed the ball to their strong trio in the paint. That set of players also must continue to be physical and aggressive down low and not allow the opposing squads any second chances.
However, this post scoring will be wasted if the Lions, as a team, do not hold on to the ball.
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