Crucial Conference Road Trip Ahead for Women’s Basketball

The Columbia women’s basketball team (9-15, 6-4 Ivy) will take its final road trip of the season this weekend, first to face Harvard (15-9, 8-2 Ivy) and then Dartmouth (10-14, 7-3 Ivy). The Lions, in fourth place in the league standings, will have to contend with two teams holding better conference records than themselves. Even though its chance of winning the Ivy League championship is slim, the Light Blue is hoping that with some wins and luck, it will rise to glory.
“They’re not trying to be the spoiler, but they’re actually trying to stay in the race,” head coach Paul Nixon said of his team. “We want to really try and focus on the games that we can control, which are the ones that we’re involved in.”
Handing each Harvard and Dartmouth another loss would obviously help the Lions’ cause, but doing so will be difficult. When the Light Blue and Crimson last met, Columbia came back from a 21-point halftime deficit to tie the game, but ultimately lost by eight points. The Lions did beat Dartmouth, but they had to overcome an 11-point deficit in the second period to do so and only led by one point with a minute to play. In order to win this weekend, the Light Blue will need to come out on top of its game.
Harvard will threaten with junior forward Katie Rollins, who leads the Crimson with 11.3 points per game. She is also the team’s second-best rebounder, with four boards per contest. Rollins recently received co-Ivy League Player of the Week honors as a result of her performances at Princeton and Penn, in which she scored 22 and 20 points, respectively. She led all scorers at Columbia this season with 23 points, but the Lions had a strong second half against the Crimson.
“They can come out and play not just with Harvard, but better than Harvard,” Nixon said.
The Big Green will look to freshman forward and six-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week Brittney Smith. Smith is second in scoring for Dartmouth with 10.7 points per game and leads her team with 8.1 rebounds per game. In Dartmouth and Columbia’s first meeting of the season, she had 22 points.
The Light Blue will want to answer its opponents’ offense with fast break points, but because the Lions’ strength lies in their transition game, that is precisely what the Crimson and Big Green will want to limit.
“We are going to have to be able to score in the half-court against Harvard and Dartmouth to have a chance this weekend,” Nixon said. “What we’re really focusing on offensively is the execution of our plays.”
While their opponents are formidable, the Lions have some weapons of their own. Senior guard Michele Gage has been on an offensive tear of late and leads the team with 11.6 points per game. In addition, she has added five rebounds per contest. Freshman center Lauren Dwyer poured in 21 points against the Big Green at home and is averaging 9.9 points per game. However, the Light Blue’s front-court may not be at its best this weekend, as sophomore forward Chelsea Frazier continues to nurse an injured foot and will have limited playing time.
The Lions, with an Ivy League title barely within their reach, face two top teams this weekend. Whether they can come away with two victories depends on the consistency of their play.
“We need to be able to put together back-to-back good performances,” Nixon said. “That’s what separates the teams that have a chance to win in this league and the ones that finish in the middle of the pack or below.”