Women's basketball sets new record for wins with 54-41 triumph over Brown

Danielle Browne, Caitlin Stachon, and Sara Yee, members of the winningest graduating class in Columbia women’s basketball history, fittingly ended their collegiate careers with a 54-41 win over Brown. Columbia as a program completes its most successful season ever, finishing clear third in the Ivy League standings and achieving a school record 18 wins.

The seniors immediately established themselves early in the game, with Browne and Stachon scoring the team’s first seven points to take a 7-3 lead. Forward Judie Lomax carried the load from there. The nation’s leading rebounder dominated the first half, scoring 12 in the next ten minutes of play to give the Light Blue a 27-14 advantage over the Bears.

Brown responded with an 11-0 run to trim the lead to two. However, Lomax responded again, connecting on a baseline jumper to give Columbia a 29-25 halftime lead.

Following intermission, Columbia and Brown both came out swinging. However, at the ten minute mark with the Lions holding onto a 39-31 lead, Browne delivered the knockout blow, going on a 7-0 run by herself to give the Light Blue a 46-31 advantage with eight minutes to play.

At the 41 second mark, the Columbia seniors were taken out of the game, receiving strong applause from the boisterous crowd.

The seniors all finished the game with solid performances. Danielle Browne scored 15 points and recorded a resounding second-half block on Brown’s Aileen Daniels. Caitlin Stachon, as has been the case her entire collegiate career, displayed great hustle and recorded a team-high three steals. Sara Yee, the first-ever Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, helped hold Brown’s three starting guards to just 11 points. In addition, Yee was a key contributor to Columbia limiting Brown to 41 points – setting Columbia’s season mark for points allowed.

However, the most prominent individual performance came from the Light Blue’s Judie Lomax. Lomax finished with her second straight 20-20 performance, recording 20 points and a program record 27 rebounds. With her efforts, she finishes the season as the first ever collegiate woman to lead the nation in rebounding in consecutive years. With the win, women’s basketball completes its season with an 18-10 record, 9-5 in conference play.