On March 15 and 16, Guest Writer Twyla Frid Lotenberg attended the championship tournament. Here are the best moments, captured on camera.

This year’s annual Ivy League basketball postseason tournament was hosted by Columbia Athletics in the Levien Gymnasium on the weekend of March 15 to 17. The top four teams of the Ivy League competed for a chance at an automatic bid to March Madness. Following is a collection of photos telling the story of the Columbia (23-7, 13-1 Ivy) Lions’ journey through this tournament. 

Columbia Women’s Basketball played Harvard (16-12, 9-5 Ivy) in the semifinals on Friday evening. The Columbia Lions fell behind in the first quarter, ending the quarter 16-14, trailing Harvard.
As play continued into the second quarter, the Lions started to find a flow.
The fans are seen celebrating, as players and fans alike intensify the energy in the gym.
Senior guard Nicole Stephens (BC ’24) is seen attempting a 3-pointer.
As the half comes to a close, fans are seen cheering from the stands holding signs. Kitty Henderson (CC ’25), a junior guard, received all-Ivy second-team honors this season. 
Perri Page (CC ’26) put up 3 points in her 19 minutes of gameplay on Friday. 
As the fourth quarter began, the Lions fought to hold their 8-point lead. 
The Lions concluded the game with a 63-61 win over Harvard and were set to play Princeton (25-5, 13-1 Ivy) in the championship game the following day.
As the national anthem plays, signifying the start of Saturday’s Columbia vs Princeton championship game, senior guard and Ivy League player of the year Abbey Hsu (CC ’24) is seen holding hands with her teammates.
The Lions struggle to play to the caliber they are regarded for across campus and trail the Tigers 34-27 going into the second half. 
Roar-EE the Lion, Columbia’s mascot, excites the packed crowd at halftime, lifting the spirit of the fans. 
Columbia Lions lose to the Princeton Tigers with a disappointing 75-58 score.

Princeton earns its ticket to March Madness, while Columbia is left devastated. Head coach Griffith delivers a heart-wrenching speech in the post-game press conference, asking the March Madness selection committee to grant Columbia a spot in the NCAA tournament; “I really hope the committee gives… this team a chance, because if we just keep being in this spot, we’re not growing the game.”

On Sunday night the NCAA announced that Columbia had received a bid to the NCAA national tournament, playing Vanderbilt, thus ending the weekend with an unexpected win.

All photos via author