Janiya-Clemmons

Janiya Clemmons’ basketball career perfectly matches the word “commencement.” On the one hand, she will leave her college life, along with the Lions—who she played with for four years—behind. On the other hand, Clemmons is also starting a new chapter in her basketball career as she looks to play professionally.

Women’s basketball dropped both games in its last home weekend to end the regular season. The Lions’ offense failed to pick up steam in the 77-52 loss to Princeton, as well as in the 51-36 defeat to Penn, locking down the fourth playoff seed.

Women’s basketball double killed the Crimson and the Big Green to secure a tournament spot after its 62-57 win in Cambridge. This extended the team’s winning streak to six games, the program’s longest in Ivy play. Columbia now ranks third in the Ivy League after consolidating its record with a 62-50 victory against Dartmouth and looks to finish the regular season strong at Levien Gymnasium next weekend.

When first-year guard Abbey Hsu pulled up and drained her 31st point of the night, Columbia’s lead on Harvard came to 32. In head coach Megan Griffith’s four seasons with the Lions, the team has won only once against the Crimson before Hsu’s explosive night.

For the first time since 2011, the Lions swept an Ivy weekend. Though Columbia lost both of its games last weekend, the women’s team put together a better performance this time around, finishing Dartmouth 73-63 before blowing out Harvard 89-64.

Women’s basketball marched into February at full steam after two nail-biters against Cornell, splitting the weekend. While the team was blown out by Yale 85-60, it flourished against Brown 74-60. The Lions (11-6, 2-2 Ivy) currently rank third in the league after playing the Ancient Eight’s top, the Bulldogs (14-3, Ivy 4-0), and the league’s bottom, the Bears (6-11, Ivy 0-4).

On Saturday afternoon’s Ivy League rematch, women’s basketball blew a 7-point lead late in the fourth quarter, losing to Cornell University 80-77 in a one-possession game in overtime.

Columbia women’s basketball advanced to 10-4 after losing only once in its last 10 games, already exceeding the win total of the 2018-2019 season.

Women’s basketball dominated the Milwaukee Panthers 74-46 the Saturday after Thanksgiving to complete a three-game winning streak, its first since December 2017. The Lions (4-3) lost to Milwaukee (2-5) last season by 13 points, 78-65, but a much better defense this season meant that Milwaukee lost by 32 fewer points.