Basketball gears up for pair of Ancient Eight competitions

After playing its four most recent Ivy League games on the road, the Columbia women’s basketball team returns to Levien Gymnasium this weekend. The Lions host Princeton on Friday night and Penn on Saturday night. Columbia (13-7, 4-2 Ivy) is currently tied with Yale for second place in the conference standings.

Last weekend, Columbia achieved a 65-60 victory at Brown before dropping an 81-74 decision at Yale. Although the Lions recorded one win, they struggled defensively in both games. Their full-court pressure was largely ineffective against an aggressive Brown squad, while their inability to rotate quickly in a half-court defensive set led to open outside shots for Yale’s guards.

“The biggest thing we’ve been working on is being able to get out and do a better job of contesting shooters,” said Columbia head coach Paul Nixon. “We’ve got to get back to being a lot stingier on the defensive end if we want to have success this weekend.”

A strong defense will be especially crucial against Princeton (17-2, 5-0 Ivy), the only Ivy team still undefeated in conference play. In particular, the Lions must find a way to stop freshman forward Niveen Rasheed. Rasheed leads the Tigers—and is second in the league—with 14.9 points per game while also averaging 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per contest.

Of course, limiting one person on a squad as balanced as Princeton will not automatically lead to a victory. Three other players—junior guard Addie Micir, sophomore guard Lauren Edwards, and sophomore center Devona Allgood—each average more than 10 points per game for the Tigers. Micir is a force from the perimeter, scoring 13.7 points per game and hitting a league-best 46.3 percent of her 3-pointers. She earned Ivy Player of the Week honors on Feb. 8 after notching 16 points and six rebounds against Harvard and scoring a career-high 25 points against Dartmouth.

“I wish I had the magic bullet for them [Princeton], but nobody else has found it, and I don’t think it’s that easy,” Nixon said. “I think it’s going to be a game where we’ll really have to compete, and work hard, and try and take away a number of different strengths. I don’t think you can just focus on one or two things.”

Columbia should have an easier task against Penn (1-18, 0-5), a team scoring a measly 44.8 points per game. The Quakers’ greatest offensive weapon, senior guard Sarah Bucar, averages nine points per contest.

Nixon made it clear that being prepared to face Princeton is the Lions’ top priority.

“We have an opportunity to close the gap…and we’re going to look to do that,” he said. “We’ll start worrying about Penn Saturday morning.”