Co-captain leads Light Blue with long-range touch

Melissa Shafer went up for the shot with 3:38 remaining in the first half against Long Beach State and Columbia trailing 29-20. The ball rolled off the senior’s hand on a trajectory that dropped it right through the basket. It was her second three-point field goal of the day—bringing Columbia within six—but also the 121st three-pointer of her collegiate career, putting her second all-time in Lions’ basketball history.

Even though she had achieved a career milestone, she reacted the same way as with any of her previous 120 three-point makes: with a fist pump.

“There’s really never a dull moment when you’re around Money-Mel,” senior co-captain Jazmin Fuller said. “My favorite is, whenever she hits one of her many clutch three-point shots, she does this side-skip into a fist pump as she’s running down the court. That’s when you know she’s in her zone, and as a point guard, I love to see that energy. We all feed off of it.”

Shafer finished the game against Long Beach State with a game-high 17 points and five three-pointers. After sinking two more triples against Army on Sunday, Shafer totals 126 three-point shots throughout her Columbia career, trailing the all-time leader, Emily Roller CC ’99, by 35. Shafer has also led the Lions in scoring this season with 10.7 points per game. In the absence of guard Brianna Orlich, who retired earlier this year due to injuries, Shafer has been a critical part to the team as a dynamic playmaker.

However, Shafer’s skills aren’t limited to just beyond the arc. Though she was recruited from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C. for her sharpshooting abilities, her defense has been a key to her success. In Columbia’s first win of the season against the Army Black Knights on Sunday, Shafer held Army’s Jen Hazlett, who came into the game as the Patriot League’s leading scorer, to just five points.

“She has really improved a lot and has worked on her defense,” head coach Paul Nixon said.

Shafer, who serves as a co-captain, is also known by her teammates and her coaches as a tireless competitor and leader who puts her team above herself.

“[Melissa] has really dedicated herself to this program,” Nixon said. “She plays hard, she plays aggressively, and she’ll do whatever it takes to win. I’ll remember a very, very competitive player who really wants to win.”

“Melissa’s a great co-captain because she does a wonderful job of bringing the team together. We have a lot of girls on our team but there’s great cohesion and team unity and Melissa is a big part of why we are able to have that,” Fuller said. “She also sets a great example for all of the younger girls of what it takes to be such a hardworking, talented, and successful athlete at this level. She’s definitely someone to emulate yet she makes it so look so easy.”

While Shafer’s pride is one of the driving forces of Columbia’s basketball team, her passion for Columbia extends beyond just her own team.

“She got a bunch of her teammates to support the volleyball team during their Dig Pink night, painting their stomachs pink and dressing in pink outfits,” Nixon said. “She bleeds Columbia Blue, and what she is worried about is all of Columbia’s teams winning.”

As the season continues and Ivy League season starts up in January, the team will look to Shafer for her work ethic, pride, and playmaking abilities—not only to mount a successful campaign but to help build the program for many years to come.

“She knows it is her responsibility as a senior to pass on the pride and legacy to this very young team,” Nixon said.