The Columbia Women’s Basketball Team continues their season with a blowout match against Pacific University led by senior guards Cecelia Collins (CC ‘25) and Kitty Henderson (CC ‘25).

The Columbia Lions Women’s Basketball team (4-0, 0-0 Ivy) faced off against the Pacific Tigers (2-3, 0-0 West Coast) and won by over 30 points! The team has had great success the past two years, named back-to-back champions of the Ivy League and making it to March Madness for the 2023-2024 season. In the game on November 21, the Lions played with strong defense and efficient ball movement which helped them to secure the win. 

FIRST QUARTER 

The game started off with Susie Rafiu (CC ‘26) winning the tip-off, giving Columbia the first possession. The game had a slow first two minutes, but right after Pacific scored their first basket, Cecelia Collins (CC ‘25) responded with a bucket of her own with an assist from Kitty Henderson (CC ‘25). Pacific might have had an early lead, but Columbia quickly pulled ahead and created a significant gap throughout the first ten minutes. The first quarter was characterized by a faster play with minimal fouling from both teams. Columbia had an impressive field goal percentage (percentage of shots made) at 57.1% and 24 bench points (points from players who were not in the starting five), 9 more than Pacific. Multiple players had nice shots including three pointers by Riley Weiss (CC ‘27) and Marija Avlijas (CC ‘27). The quarter ended with a Columbia in the lead, 24-15. 

SECOND QUARTER

Pacific seemed to come back into the game with a plan, but quickly it fell apart under the Lion’s offensive and defensive plays. The Columbia players seemed to be working on shuffling around players when on defense, causing Pacific to have possessions where they could not get a shot up. There was a bit of a dry spell where the play was fast; no one on either team could seem to get a shot up, but Cecelia Collins broke the spell by knocking down an open three pointer. Halfway through the quarter Nasi Simmons (CC ‘28) seemed to steal the show with her strong defense, offensive and defensive rebounds, and a steal that led her to scoring a driving layup! At the half the Lions led 43-25 with impressive stats. 

THIRD QUARTER

In the third quarter the Lions came out roaring with confidence and exciting plays that engaged the spectators. Early in the quarter, Cecelia Collins sent a behind-the-back pass to Kitty Henderson for the layup, and despite a miss, Riley Weiss gained the offensive rebound and sent a clean jumper into the hoop. Throughout the quarter, Cecelia Collins worked the floor with five assists, six points, and two steals. In the last five seconds, Kitty Henderson hit a driving layup, drawing the and-one and scoring her 1000th career point. This makes her the 15th women’s basketball player in Columbia University history to score 1000 career points. The score (70-39) at the end of the third quarter favored Columbia.

FOURTH QUARTER 

The last quarter was a bit slower due to Columbia’s large lead, allowing for Columbia to play all of their players. Notably, Emily Montes (BC ‘27) scored a three-pointer in her first minute of the game, her first career three-pointer at Columbia. Pacific seemed to be losing morale and became increasingly tired throughout the quarter, allowing Columbia easier play. The last few minutes were littered with fouls from both teams, and there were strangely multiple technical fouls (non-physical fouls that violate the game’s rules) called during this quarter. With the last possession and 20 seconds left on the clock, the Lions closed out the game, ending with a score of 84-50. 

Overall, Columbia played a great game against Pacific. For the Lions, Cecelia Collins led in steals and assists, Riley Weiss led in points, Nasi Simmons led in blocks, and Susie Rafiu led in rebounds. 

The team’s next game is against Indiana Women’s Basketball (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis and you can watch it live on FloHoops. Their next home game will be on Wednesday, December 4, at 11 am in the Levien Gymnasium; you can get tickets here.

Header Image and Stat Images via Author