Gutsy win by one with .7 left on the clock. Columbia trailed through most of the game, Weiss was held to just 10 pts., but the defense tightened, and Paige hit a layoff just before the buzzer.
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Nice win for the Lions… they trailed the entire 2nd half and pulled ahead on Perri Page’s drive to the hoop with 0.7 seconds remaining.
The game was very physical… both teams dished it out. Seton Hall did a nice job of shutting down Riley Weiss (only 10 pts, all in the 2nd half), but Henderson, Page, and Broom came up huge to give the Lions a shot at the end.
A few thoughts from this thrilling game, which I attended:
- Best win of season so far with possible exception of SDSU
- Fliss has really stepped up her game. She is a force on the floor. She’s still just technically a sophomore. 1 rebound away from a double-double. She could have a Kitty-level influence on this program.
- Tremendous decision by Perri to slip to the rim when getting trapped with time running out. Perri is one of the all time great Lions.
- Maria is a fine player, but I think Mia has more of a presence out there and down the stretch Coach G went with her. We may have seen a changing of the guard and the point.
- As I’ve said previously, we’re more offensively challenged than any previous team in this golden era and more reliant on the outside shot. We dont have a CeCe or Kaitlyn Davis with great skills around the basket but we can be close with Perri, Fliss, and Susie (if Susie stays out of foul trouble). We also miss Kitty’s and CeCe’s rebounding. Tonight we competed admirably for boards, despite being up against a much taller team.
- Seton Hall had a super speedy guard that reminded me all of their all world guard from a couple of years ago (forgot her name….Lauren something…she transferred to Mississippi State for her final year). It also made the point to me that we don’t quite have a player with that level of speed and athleticism.
- Overall, we should be able to handle 6 of the other Ivy’s, but we’ll need to improve to compete with Princeton.
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Nice post, CC89.
While this team doesn’t have an Abbey or CeCe to rely on from a scoring standpoint, I don’t know if their teams from the past have been better defensively.
Agree with your take about Fliss… and she’s getting better with each game. While she’s no Kitty, she was key to the victory last night.
I love Mia’s game and you can see her confidence booming… great to have her and Avlijas competing for minutes. Both are very capable and I think you’re right… Mia will be getting more minutes as the season progresses.
I haven’t seen much of Harvard and Princeton this season, but I expect another intense 3-way battle for the championship.
A very loud and enthusiastic WELCOME indeed to cc66 whose wise comments and analysis enabled many Columbia Basketball fans to retain their interest in Columbia basketball during the lean years.
Thanks so much! That is very kind.
To update: I think the women’s team is too dependent on their defense. In the absence of another scorer besides Weiss who has proven to be very streaky, they are headed for 2nd place in the IL. Next year, they will have Weiss as a senior and one of their best recruiting classes, so how far they go will depend how much next year’s sophomores and juniors develop.
From what I understand, Brown’s facial fracture should take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. He should therefore be back soon. Bedri’s injury occurred later and takes longer, but he should be back by mid-January. After we play Cal on 12/21, we will know whether we merely stumbled against Stony Brook, or Stony Brook discovered something that other teams can use, in which case we probably will replicate last year’s poor performance in Ivy League play. [I think the former is more likely than the latter].
At this time there is no question that Princeton is way ahead of us in the race for the Ivy League Women’s Basketball Title. However, our first game of the big rivalry with Princeton is not until January 30th, so Coach G still has a significant amount of time to correct the problems you mentioned.You are certainly correct in your assessment of the major issue which is the absence of another “scorer” type besides Riley Weiss. Of course, Perri Page, who basically won the game against Seton Hall with a great final second lay-up, is almost there, so she could be the answer. Also Susie Rafiu has a chance to be the needed “scorer,” if could stopped both fouling unnecessarily and looking to shot from the outside. Obviously, If one or more of the current starters up their game significantly, our chances of defeating Princeton will improve, and hopefully that will happen. In the alternative, however, one of the current non-starters on what seems to be a talented bench, could suddenly emerge as an impact player. No matter what, my expectation is that Shippen will be scoring in double figures for us by year end. Perhaps someone else too.
I have really wondered about Shippen. All-time hs scoring in Idaho, but rarely breaks into the lineup for us? Is it her defense? She does not seem to be terribly quick, but I would have expected more of a contribution from her by now.
It’s a guard heavy roster that’s only played 11 games. Im sure she will get a shot to contribute more at some point
Let’s hope so. Good first years don’t usually contribute more than 7 or 8 ppg, but even that average would provide some diversification.
She’s the 7th guard. Hard to see where the additional minutes will come from right now.
Yes, but isn’t that precisely the question I was asking, i.e., why is the most prolific scorer in the history of Idaho women’s HS basketball the 7th guard on Columbia Lions Women’s Basketball Team?
Because she’s the 7th best guard on the Columbia women’s team according to Meg. Might be defensive shortcomings, she can’t remember the plays or a bunch of other things. Maybe she can’t score. And Idaho isn’t exactly a feeder to D1 women’s basketball programs.
All true. But color me disappointed.
Respectfully, it’s too early for disappointment. We have a good team with good players. Not everyone comes in as a first year and immediately shines. The transition to elite academics, an excellent D1 team that plays a competitive non-conf schedule and life in NYC is tough for most kids. I’m sure Meg and staff will coach her up and she will be a vital part of the program.
From what I’ve observed, Shippen seems like a great teammate and is supportive of her teammates, happy, and adjusting well. I’m just not convinced she is going to be a major contributor at any point. Not sure if she has the athleticism. She may have the role Emily Montes had the last couple of seasons. BTW, what happened to Emily? Why is she not on the team? Would be very disappointing if Coach G told her there was no room.
Looks like Emily left the team shortly before the season started. I liked her enthusiasm, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to get much PT, and it’s a huge time commitment just to be a member of the team.
Regarding Shippen not getting PT, it’s probably a combination of things… Riley Weiss only averaged about 15 mins/game her first season likely due to her inability to play D at a high level. Looking back, very few first years under Meg get substantial PT… Abbey and Kitty are a couple that come to mind.
Just one minor point, Riely is an excellent defender. She may not look like the most athletic player to some, but she is much more than a sharp shooter. She is tremendous off the dribble driving to the basket or pulling up, a great passer, and a plus defender. Perhaps she wasn’t as a freshman (dont know if we saw enough sample), but she is now. Sure, sometimes very quick players will blow by her, but that happens to absolutely everybody on occasion.
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