Columbia Returns Home to Face Brown and Yale

The Columbia women’s basketball team will be back at home this weekend when it faces off against Brown and Yale. To continue the success they had against second-place Harvard last weekend, the Lions will have to focus on playing strong defense and controlling the boards.

In its first meeting against Brown, Columbia was able to dominate all aspects of the game. The Lions outrebounded the Bears 41-22, allowing the former to put up 14 second-chance points. Sophomore forward Judie Lomax led Columbia in rebounds with a total of 15. On the offensive side, the Lions were able to get a huge boost from cocaptain Sara Yee, who scored 20 points during the contest. Yee was not the only Lion who was on fire that night—Lomax and Danielle Browne also put up big numbers.

The key for the Lions this weekend will be preventing the Bears from getting open looks—something they were able to do in their last meeting, as Brown shot only 35.4 percent from the field. The Lions should also look for smart opportunities to send the Bears to the free-throw line. While it was stronger than Columbia from the free-throw line, Brown record was paltry—just over 50 percent.

Columbia’s first game against Yale was more difficult, as the Lions fell to the Bulldogs 63-61. During this contest, Yale was able to force 27 Columbia turnovers, limiting the latter’s scoring. However, the Bulldogs only shot 35 percent from the field and 31 percent from behind the arc for the entire game. Despite this poor shooting, Yale was able to come away with the victory because of its excellent foul shooting, hitting 80 percent of its free throws. The Lions will have to be careful in creating contact with the Bulldog’s top shooters.

The Light Blue will also have to establish a bigger presence on the glass against the Elis. The Lions were only able to muster up eight second-chance points last time, while the Bulldogs had 12 in the second half alone. Additionally, Columbia will have to put pressure on Yale’s offense to allow the transition baskets that have been a key aspect of the team’s game plan this season. Finally, Columbia will need to count on strong play from its bench. In its previous meeting with Yale, the Columbia bench totaled just 12 points.

The Lions will face off against the Bears at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Levien Gym, when Columbia hosts Pink Zone Night. The event raises breast-cancer awareness, and half the proceeds from ticket sales will go toward breast cancer research. The game against Yale is set to begin at the same time on Saturday in Levien.