Women's Basketball Downed by West Virginia at Florida Atlantic Invitational

The women's basketball team (2-6, 0-0 Ivy) did not have a chance to relax during its weekend in Boca Raton, Fla., as it faced Florida Atlantic (2-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) Saturday and West Virginia (7-1, 0-0 Big East) Sunday at the Florida Atlantic Invitational. Despite incurring two losses, several Columbia players had performances that can only be signs of good things to come for the season.

Against Florida Atlantic, the Light Blue came out cold and could never fully recover. The team shot 31 percent from the field in the first half and was down by 12 points after 20 minutes of play. At one point in the second period, the Owls held a comfortable 21-point lead. But Columbia tightened its defense while improving its shot selection in the second half, with the Lions giving up 36 points to the Owls in the final 20 minutes of the game while scoring 32 themselves. But that second-half rally could not bring about a victory, with Florida Atlantic coming out on top by a 74-58 score.

Sophomore forward Chelsea Frazier did not start but led Columbia with 14 points, while sophomore guard Danielle Browne went a perfect six-for-six from the field for the Light Blue. Junior guard Katrina Cragg, a Florida native, made her season debut for Columbia, finishing with two assists in 12 minutes. Sophomore guard Sara Yee dished out a career-high six assists for the Lions, while standout freshman center Lauren Dwyer had her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Light Blue was back in action yesterday afternoon against West Virginia, a team ranked 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Mountaineers' only loss on the season has come at the hands of top-ranked Tennessee. West Virginia set the tone right from the start, opening the game with an 11-0 run and did not look back as it rolled to a 74-41 victory. With 17:54 left in the second half, Columbia was only down by nine points, 35-26—but the Mountaineers scored the next seven points to put the game out of reach for the Light Blue. Senior guard Brittney Carfora led the Lions with 11 points.

The Lions will be on the road again this weekend, as they will face Denver on Friday and Northern Colorado on Saturday.