Lack of Consistency Ends Magical Basketball Season

On the night of Feb. 15, the Columbia women’s basketball team was sitting on top of the world. It was Barnard Night, and one of the greatest crowds of the season had descended upon Levien Gymnasium to watch the Lions take on Dartmouth. The Light Blue did not disappoint its fans, rallying from a second-half deficit to beat the Big Green by three points. With the victory, the team rose to 5-2 in the Ivy League. Columbia—predicted to finish seventh in the conference—was now a contender for the championship.

Just two weeks later, however, the Lions are 6-6 in the Ancient Eight and are out of the race for the league title. Senior guard Michele Gage has been impressive during Ivy play, but her offensive explosion has not been enough to carry the team to victories. One of Columbia’s main problems during this three-game skid has been on the other side of the ball—defense.

In the Lions’ second game against Yale this season, four players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs. The reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year, sophomore forward Melissa Colborne, led the charge with 20 points. Gage’s 21 points and sophomore guard Danielle Browne’s 10 could not counter Yale’s attack, and Columbia lost the game.

Yale also outscored the Lions in the paint 40-26. In this area, however, Columbia’s subpar defense could partially be attributed to its diminished interior presence. Due to a foot injury, freshman forward Chelsea Frazier’s playing time was limited, and the Light Blue’s frontcourt was not as dominant as it could have been.

Although Columbia lost to Harvard this weekend by just one point, the team could have come away with a victory had it played better defense. The Lions allowed the Crimson to score 71 points with five players contributing at least 10 points for Harvard. On a positive note, the Light Blue was outscored by only two points in the paint with Frazier playing 24 minutes.

The Lions lost to Dartmouth by 18 points on Saturday night. Despite a dismal offensive output, however, their defense showed improvement. The Big Green only put up 59 points, and even though three players scored in double figures, freshman forward and six-time Ivy Rookie of the Week Brittney Smith was held to nine points. If Columbia can put together strong performances on both sides of the ball, it should have no trouble against Princeton and Penn this weekend.