Women's Basketball Takes First Road Trip of League Season

This weekend, the Columbia women’s basketball team (5-13, 2-2 Ivy) will try to score a winning Ivy League record at Penn (3-15, 0-3 Ivy) and Princeton (4-15, 1-2 Ivy). The Lions are fifth in the conference standings and most recently beat Brown in overtime. However, they may have to play their next two games without sophomore forward and recent Ivy Player of the Week Chelsea Frazier, who injured her shoulder during the Light Blue’s game against Yale.

“She is the definition of day-to-day,” head coach Paul Nixon said.

The Lions, who have been outrebounded in three of their four conference games, will need to be more effective on the boards this weekend, especially if they are without Frazier’s front-court presence. In addition, a strong defense should lead to scoring opportunities for Columbia.

“We do a really good job ... when we’re able to create some offense with our defense, create the turnovers, and get the steals,” Nixon said. “We’ve definitely showed signs in all four of our Ivy games of being able to really be a very effective offensive team.”
The Light Blue will need to put points on the board this weekend. They can look to sophomore Danielle Brown, who leads the team with 31.8 points per game, to make some baskets. Though Penn is winless in the Ancient Eight, it has recently shown signs of becoming a threat. After a 12-point loss to Princeton, the Quakers regrouped, losing a one-point heartbreaker to Harvard and a five-point game against Dartmouth. The Lions should watch out for junior forward Carrie Biemer, who leads Penn with 12.1 points per game and is shooting 82.8 percent from the free throw line. She came off the bench in 27 games for the Quakers last season and has started 17 of the team’s 18 games in this campaign.

Princeton opened its conference schedule with a victory but then lost by double-digits to Dartmouth and Harvard. Senior forward Meagan Cowher is pouring in 17.4 points per game for the Tigers, while their next-highest scorer is averaging 7.5 per contest. Though Princeton has struggled lately, the team has the potential to improve its Ivy record. Earlier this season, the Tigers lost by only five points to seventh-ranked Rutgers.

Columbia will face Penn on Friday at the Palestra and Princeton on Saturday at Jadwin Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday.