Lions wreak havoc on opposition with ferocious defense

It has become common sight in Columbia women’s basketball to see Judie Lomax, Danielle Browne, or any other Lions player dive onto the floor for a steal. This ferocious energy is a key and necessary element of the team’s scheme that has anchored Columbia’s defense this season.

The team runs a pressure-oriented defense, and often relies on half-court traps and the full-court press to disrupt the opponent’s offense. This defensive system has paid dividends for the Lions, and has led to Columbia leading the league in steals per game, last year and for most of this season.

Points off of turnovers can swing the balance of any game, but this stat is particularly significant for Columbia. In games where Columbia has scored more points off turnovers than its opponent, the team’s record is 14-4 (with two of the defeats coming from narrow losses to ACC team North Carolina State and Big Ten team Iowa). Conversely, when the team ties or loses the points off a turnover battle, Columbia is just 2-6.

These statistics indicate that the team lives and dies with the defense’s ability to generate steals. Fortunately for Columbia, the team has the right players for this system.

Kathleen Barry currently ranks fifth in the Ancient Eight with 1.8 steals per game. She is often assigned to the opposition’s biggest offensive threat, and her play is vital to the Lions’ success. In the three games she missed because of a knee injury, Columbia allowed a season-high 81 points to Yale, 77 points to Princeton, and struggled to beat last-place Penn. These numbers contrast with the team’s average 62.0 points allowed per game, and indicate Barry’s importance to the squad.
Most people associate Lomax’s defensive contributions with her rebounding—she leads the nation with 13.5 rebounds per game—but she also leads the Ivy League with 2.6 steals per game, a rarity for a forward.

One reason she is able to thrive in steals as a forward is that all the roles in the Lions’ full-court press are interchangeable. On some defensive sets, center Lauren Dwyer may be guarding the middle of the court. On other opponent possessions, it may be point guard Sara Yee. By keeping Lomax’s position flexible, she can use her knowledge and athleticism to make plays.

“Judie really understands the system defensively,” head coach Paul Nixon said. “She does a great job of getting her hands on a lot of balls, because she’s understanding what her teammates are getting ready to do, and seeing and anticipating what her opponents are going to do, and she can oftentimes beat them to the spot. Her strength and athleticism is only a small component of how good a defensive player she is.”

Arguably, the team’s main catalyst for steals comes from its back-court senior tandem of Browne and Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Yee. Although Yee’s defensive stats seem average, what the scoreboard doesn’t capture is her ability to relentlessly pressure her defender.

“What Sara does, is she really sets the tone for us defensively with her ball pressure. She’s able to pick up the ball in the full court and really pressure it all the way down the court into the half,” Nixon said. “That relentless pressure she’s able to apply on the ball allows the rest of the players to be more successful defensively because the players that they’re guarding have to work really hard to get open so that whoever Sara’s guarding can safely deliver the basketball.”

Browne, the other half of the back-court tandem, is known for her takeaway abilities as well. Her four-year tenure at Columbia has been one of the most prolific of any guard in the school’s history, and she is slated to finish fourth all-time in assists and second all-time in steals.

“You look at Danielle’s overall career and you start looking at some of the numbers. The two most important stats for a guard typically are assists and steals. ... Her entire career she’s been one of the top people on the team in the two major guard categories,” Nixon said. “For her to end her career in the top four in both categories is not surprising.”

Throughout her career, one reason she has been so proficient in getting steals is her quickness and energy. She has the speed to tip passes and to get to loose balls faster than her opponents. More importantly though, her style as an unselfish player on the offensive end (she’s third in the league with 4.5 assists per game) also carries over to defense. She’s willing to hit the floor hard and sacrifice her body to get at loose balls, truly the definition of a team player.

“As a player, she really is all about what’s best for the team, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing that she’ll leave as part of her legacy at Columbia,” Nixon said. “She’s about team first, and not about what’s best for Danielle Browne.”