Nice grind out wins this weekend in New England (New Haven counts). Riley has locked up IL POY. Next Saturday’s game against Harvard is for the regular season championship and the #1 seed in the ILT. This Harvard team is diminished compared to last year’s squad with Harmoni Turner, but I’m concerned about the setting. Emotions will be high on Perri’s and Susie’s senior day and I think back a few years ago when we had an all-star laden team but nearly blew it against a last place (or almost last place) Cornell team on senior day. I hope the coaching staff can prepare the team to focis properly. There is so much on the line. A win and we even have a shot for an at-large berth in the NCAAs.
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A couple of notes on this game:
- Karlee White (Harvard’s top scorer) seems to have tore her ACL in the final minutes of the Princeton game. She will most likely miss the rest of the season. She joins Lydia Chatira, who seemingly rolled her ankle during the Penn game and was wearing a boot.
- A win gives us at least a share of the regular season title (if Princeton wins) and the #1 seed. This would put us against Brown in the semifinal. A loss means we need Princeton to lose to Yale to get a share of the title and the #1 seed, if not we get the #2 seed and would face Harvard again in the semifinals.
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If White is out with the ACL, Brown (4 seed) may be the decidedly stronger team than Harvard (3 seed).
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Yes, on paper it looks like. But the aim should be to win both the regular season and Ivy Madness, so it doesn’t change much.
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Brown is a very physical team that plays aggressively on both sides of the ball. Their players are particularly tough on defense where they make frequent contact with the ball handlers. The Columbia made too many turnovers yesterday against Brown which Coach G will try to correct the next time the teams play. I do agree that Brown may be more dangerous now than Harvard . However, Columbia still needs to concentrate on its offense where the Lions are getting very little production beyond the Big Three–Weiss, Page and Rafiu. Fliss needs to take her time when shooting, especially up close, Avilas, Simmons and Broom need to drive to the basket more and our centers need to position themselves closer to the basket.
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All true, but I think the circumstances will be much more favorable for a Brown rerun, which will be first game in the IL tournament rather than the second of a back to back. Rest and a little more diversification should produce a 8 to 10 pt. victory.
Princeton is the bigger problem. They are playing better: beating them three times in one season would be quite an achievement.
I think we are at a point that Broom should be our PG. The Broom that got frequently disconected on the court that we saw at the begining of the season is definitely over. The team plays better with her on the court. I feel she is underplayed right now. I just wish she learns how to dam go over a screen and not directly at it (I feel it is because she is scared of fouling the ball player)
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I’m more confident that ever about facing Princeton. Seems that Coach G is tactically outplaying Berube pretty consistenly. It’s more a matter of the team being able to execute the gameplsn and keep being agrresive on defense
It’s gonna come down to mental toughness. The pressure will be huge. Who will crack and who will execute? But first we have to get there.
Neither Fliss Henderson nor Broom is the clear winner yet in the Columbia Point Guard Derby. Fliss Henderson appears fo be stronger physically than Broom in regards to size and strength, rebounding/toughness and interior defense,. Broom is a much better outside shooter than Fliss, and is also quicker and more creative. Her ball handling skills range from very good to spectacular. but she has not yet developed a mid-range shooting game. Coach Griffith is using both of them now as she sees fit which makes sense to me.
I think Broom’s minutes come more from Avlijas than from Fliss. I really like Broom, but she is streaky shooting and Marija hit some big shots yesterday - tricky decisions.
Agree. Coach G loves Fliss. Her minutes aren’t going anywhere. Broom’s playing time will come at the expense of Maria Avlijas. For whatever it’s worth, I agree with the coach. Fliss brings so many intangibles. She is also among the league leaders in rebounding (i think #4). I think she’s as valuable as Kitty was.
Love Fliss, but maybe she can work on her shooting touch around the basket during the off-season?
I love Fliss too… she’s a key member of this year’s team. But let’s not forget that her sister was a Lion legend… a slam dunk CU Hall of Famer.
Give Fliss another year. She could be All-Ivy next year and she and Kitty get enshrined together 
.
She has to develop her offense.
Fliss missed her entire sophomore season due to a serious back injury so she is probably eligible to play a fifth year of college basketball as an Ivy League graduate transfer. I do agree that she has to develop her offense, but the physicality and skills are there alredy.
I agree, I love how she plays. She’s a big guard who sees the whole game, it’s a rare combination. But her shooting is truly terrible by any measure and there’s been zero improvement since she got to Columbia. Which is concerning if she wants to take the next step.
This team’s fate will ultimately be decided next weekend in Ithaca, but how sweet it will be if they can knock off Harvard, claim another regular season championship and head into Ivy Madness as the 1-seed.
Even without Karlee White and Gabby Anderson (two starters lost to injury), the Crimson will still be dangerous if taken lightly. Glenn-Bello, Krupa, and Wright have all had big games at Levien in the past.
Not necessarily a knock on Rafiu and Avlijas, but I would love to see these five on the floor together more often:
Weiss
Page
Fliss
Broom
Simmons
The defense alone would be something to see.
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