This weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team exhibited a glaring weakness—its inability to completely dominate games. The Lions have shown that they are talented and determined to win, but if they still want to contend for the Ivy League championship, they must be able to extend leads and maintain positive momentum.
Columbia cost itself a win over Yale on Friday evening by squandering, rather than lengthening, advantages. The Lions led by six points early in the first half, but they only held a two-point advantage at halftime. Those two points resulted from a short-range shot by sophomore forward Judie Lomax at the buzzer, which gave Columbia momentum but only a small cushion at the intermission.
The Lions’ eventual 63-61 loss cannot be blamed on a lack of effort but, rather, on an inability to sufficiently distance themselves from the Bulldogs when given the opportunity. Yale made that task difficult with junior guard Melissa Colborne and junior forward Haywood Wright on the floor, each of whom netted game-highs of 17 points.
“We just had to bring toughness on every possession, and I think sometimes we dropped off,” Lomax said. “We just weren’t giving out all our effort on every single possession, and when the game’s close like that, those one or two possessions that we take off really matter at the end.”
The Lions did achieve a 76-51 victory over Brown the following night, but they only led by seven points at halftime. Columbia could have entered the intermission with a double-digit advantage had it not given up a three-pointer at the buzzer. Still, the Lions’ ability to rebound from a heartbreaking defeat and, eventually, dominate a team of lesser ability is a step in the right direction for Columbia.
“I’m certainly pleased with the way that the team bounced back,” head coach Paul Nixon said. “Our team really responded well, particularly on the defensive end, and created opportunities for us in transition to really get out and stretch and extend the lead.”
In order to fully control games, Nixon believes the Lions must constantly play with toughness and passion.
“The key is to keep the intensity level high,” he said. “I think even in last night’s [Friday’s] game, there were lulls in the middle of each half where Yale was able to make a little run. And even though I thought we were very intense at the beginning and end of each half, I thought those lulls in the middle is what made the difference in the game for them.”
Columbia understands what it must do to succeed in Ivy play. Whether or not the Lions remain title contenders will depend on their ability to execute that strategy.
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