The Guru NCAAW Report: Columbia Regains Sole Possession of First in Ivies Beating Princeton for a Sweep; Penn Alone in Fourth; Lehigh Wins 12th Straight; No. 6 UConn Spoils Butler’s First Sellout

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PRINCETON, N.J. – Six days from when Columbia’s alumni weekend was disrupted by Harvard with an inspired fourth quarter, the Lions gave Princeton the same treatment during a similar celebration here Saturday night in the Tigers’ Jadwin Gym gaining a 64-60 victory and climbing back in the driver’s seat for the regular season Ivy title and No. 1 seed for next month’s four-team Ivy Madness at Brown’s Pizzatola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.

Columbia (19-5, 10-1) opened with a 10-2 lead on the Tigers (18-6), the two teams were tied for first place, Princeton later rallied for a six-point lead in the third quarter in which the Tigers outscored the visitors 20-11, but the Lions opened the fourth with a 13-0 run and then finished dominating the period 26-16.

It’s the first time an Ivy opponent swept Princeton on the season since Penn went 2-0 in 2017 and the loss snapped a 29-game home win streak, which is 31 counting the Tigers winning Ivy Madness 2-0 when the tourney was held here. Columbia had gained the last win before that streak, which was longest in the nation.

“It’s just two great teams battling,” said Columbia coach Meghan Griffith, who has been back at her alma mater nine years after a long stint on Princeton’s staff when Courtney Banghart, now at North Carolina, built the Tigers into a national force. “We’ve built a strong rivalry with Princeton the last few years.

“This has always been a hard place to play, it always has been, even when I was a player. It’s a different gym,” she said.

“I was proud of our team, we didn’t lose our heads. I put them through a really hard week.”

In two other games, form was in danger of going by the wayside before Harvard righted the ship at the finish with a 60-57 win at Brown enabling the Crimson to officially become the third team in the league tournament field.

Penn, meanwhile, which had been in a deep hole in the Ivy qualifying race, also had a burst at the finish at home at The Palestra enabling the Quakers to take sole possession of fourth place with a 68-63 win over Cornell but there are some challenges ahead in the final three games.

Columbia, which shared the regular season glory with Princeton the past two seasons, can win its first regular season crown outright gaining sole possession of first and deprive the Tigers of a sixth-straight regular season title by beating Brown at home Friday in Levien Gym off  Broadway in New York City’s Upper West Side.

Columbia then hosts Yale the next day at 2 p.m. and Cornell the following Saturday.

Penn (14-10, 5-6), which is going to be a factor  in how it all finishes seed-wise, is at Dartmouth Friday at 8 p.m. in Leedee Arena before visiting Harvard (20-3, 9-2) in Lavietes Pavilion Saturday in Cambridge, Mass., and hosting Princeton at The Palestra.

Brown (10-14, 4-7) visits Cornell (7-17, 3-8) after Columbia and the following Saturday  travels to Yale.

Meanwhile, in how Columbia got back in the driver’s seat, the two Lions whose hands gripped the steering wheel were sophomore Riley Weiss with a game-high 34 points, shooting 11-21 from the field, including 5-11 from beyond the arc and a perfect 7-7 from the line, while Aussie Kitty Henderson shot 5-6 for 14 points including a dagger three from the corner with 18 seconds left with 18 seconds left for a 60-55 lead.

Ashley Chea, who was 5-9 from the field and two makes in three attempts from deep, and a perfect 4-4 from the line for the Tigers, made two free throws with 14 seconds left.

Sky Belker then fouled Weiss with eight seconds left and the sophomore made both attempts to regain a five-point lead, but Fadima Tall, who had 17 for Princeton, hit a three with four seconds left to cut it to 62-60 and went to the line for an add-one.

She missed the shot on purpose but Perri Page came up with the rebound and Columbia called time before being tied up, which led to gaining the alternative possession.

Belker fouled Weiss again with a second left, the sophomore guard made both, and Henderson blocked Chea’s  attempted three before the game ended.

“It means so much, especially to do it when they got such a big crowd on alumni weekend,” Columbia’s  Henderson said. “I could hear players I played against in past years talking on the sidelines.

“It was a great rivalry game. It had everything — the fans, the talking crap, all that stuff. It was a lot of fun. We did as good job staying together because we knew how much this game meant.”

Griffith said Columbia’s ability to “throw the first punch, something Princeton likes to do,” was key “because it allowed us to throw the last punch in the fourth period.”

It’s Columbia’s first sweep of Princeton since 2008.

Griffith said, Henderson, who set the program assists record with her 457th in the second quarter, is the player she trusts must but declared Weiss her “finisher.”

“Riley is just scratching the surface of how good she’s going to be,” the Columbia coach said. “It’s really fun when you get to see two young players like her and Ashley Chea developing and blossoming in this league.

“I  think Riley is understanding her potential and capacity to give to this program right now, in ways that aren’t just scoring. We’re seeing her dive for loose balls and trap and steal in the press.  She made big plays and she capitalized.”

There’s still a lot of race left and Princeton could still win the automatic bid, though this year the possibility of three Ivy reps in the NCAA 68-team field has been discussed in national media circles.

“We need to take care of business for the rest of the regular season,” said Princeton coach Carla Berube,  a former Connecticut star. “In our sights right now is Harvard. That’s the next game on our schedule. It will be important for us to win the Ivy tournament to get the opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament.”

The game was on the front end of a doubleheader with the men, who lost to Dartmouth here for the first time since 2009 and few can remember a time when both programs were swept her on a twin bill.

Penn, meanwhile, has been fighting back since opening the front half of the Ivy schedule playing the tougher teams in the league.

The Quakers struggled all afternoon with Cornell until gaining control down the stretch.

Senior Stina Almqvist, who scored her 1,000th career point last week in a 20 plus production, made it two straight in collecting a game-high 25 points, helped by 12-for-14 from the line.

Mataya Gayle added 18 points with five assists, while the Big Red’s Summer Parker-Hill scored 17.

“We know we need to win basketball games to make the playoff,” said the Quakers’ Mike McLaughlin, now the Ivy dean on the sidelines. “This is vital for us if we’re going to earn another game into this season. That’s the way we looked at it and they responded.”

The key for Harvard was a 20-12 third quarter.

Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez paired on the go-ahead score for the Crimson with 21 seconds left in regulation.

Turner finished with 23 points, shooting 8-7 from the field with seven boards, five assists, and three steals.

Rodriguez added 15 with six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

It was Harvard’s 19th straight win against the Bears.

In the Patriot League, first-place Lehigh (23-4, 14-1) made it a rivalry sweep of nearby Lafayette (7-19, 4-11) at the Kirby Sports Center, winning 75-61 in Easton, Pa.

Ella Stemmer scored 21 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field for the Mountainhawks, who have won 12 straight, while Maddie Albrecht scored 15, Lily Fandre 13, and Colleen McQuillen 12. Albrecht also had seven boards, seven assists and three steals.

Teresa Kiewet had a game-high 26 for the host Leopards.

Lehigh, which has a two-game lead on Army, is at Boston U. Wednesday at 5 p.m. (ESPN+).

In the Big Ten, Penn State suffered a 78-68 setback at Michigan (19-8, 10-6) in Ann Arbor, and the Lady Lions (10-17, 1-15) remain in 18th and last place in the conference.

Gracie Merkle scored 18 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field, with 10 points for Penn State, while Gabby Elliott scored 15 points, and Moriah Murray got her 12 points on four makes from 3-point range.

Ali Campbell dealt seven assists.

The Wolverine freshman Sylva Swords dealt 24 assists, Jordan Hobbs scored 18, Olivia Olson scored scored 12, and Greta Kampschroeder scored 10 points.

Penn State hosts Purdue on Senior Day Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center on the Big Ten Network.

Rider in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference lost at home in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., to Mount St. Mary’s 76-49 falling to 6-20 overall and 4-13 in the conference.

“We did not play well today, defensively or offensively,” said veteran Rider coach Lynn Milligan. “We’re going to own that, get  back to work Monday, and be ready for next week.”

Winner Bartholomew scored 15 for the Broncs, and La Salle transfer Gabby Turco scored 11 points.

Rider hosts Merrimack on Thursday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+), which is Senior Night.

In the Atlantic 10, La Salle fell at home in the John E. Glaser Arena to St. Bonaventure 48-41 dropping to a  split in the two games.

Ty’renisha Bowers  was the sole person scoring in double figures with 14 points.

St. Bonaventure (6-21, 2-14) got 19 points and six boards from Dani Haskell.

La Salle (8-21, 2014) is at Fordham next on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

The National Scene

No. 5 Connecticut stayed perfect in the Big East winning 86-47 over Butler (15-15, 5-12) at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as Paige Bueckers had 23 points and 10 assists and freshman Sarah Strong scored 16 for the Huskies (26-3, 16-0).

Kilyn McGuff, the daughter of Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff, and Lily Zeinstra each scored 13 for Butler, which had its first-ever sellout.

Geno Auriemma increased his record collegiate win total to 1,239.

Ashlynn Shade added 14 points to the Connecticut attack.

The host Bulldogs are 0-8 lifetime against the Huskies, whose Caroline Ducharme came in briefly for the first time since last season when she suffered a head injury.

Connecticut hosts No. 23 Creighton Thursday looking to clinch another Big East regular season conference crown, the 24th in the Big East, while Butler is at Villanova Wednesday.

Fairfield in the MAAC, where the Stags are unbeaten, was idle but second place Quinnipiac (22-3, 14-2) won easily 60-40 at home against Manhattan as Jackie Gisdale, Karson Martin and Gal Raviv each scored 12 points while Raviv completed  a double double with 10 rebounds and Anna Foley scored 11 points.

In the Big 12, No. 12 Kansas State at home beat Kansas 90-60, No. 19 Baylor at home beat Iowa State 67-52, and No. 24 Oklahoma State at home beat Colorado 82-65.

Looking Ahead

Saint Joseph’s looking to snap a two-game losing streak has a key Atlantic 10 game at 4 p.m. in Hagan Arena on national television (ESPNU) hosting George Mason looking to sweep the Patriots.

In the Coastal Athletic Association Drexel looks to stay in second a game behind North Carolina A&T when the Dragons visit Elon at 1 p.m., though they could tie for first if Delaware, on a six-game win streak, upsets the league-leaders in their visit at 2 p.m., both on FloSports.

Villanova looks to stay in the three-way tie for third minimally in the Big East visiting Providence at noon on FSI, while Rutgers in the Big Ten seeks its second victory in the conference in completing its two-game swing in the Northwest visiting new member Oregon in Eugene at 5 p.m.

Nationally, in the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 1 Notre Dame is at No. 13 N.C. State in Raleigh at 12 p.m. on ESPN looking to stay unbeaten in the conference; No. 9 North Carolina has a 2 p.m. date in the ACC in Louisville, also on ESPN; No. 11 Duke hosts Syracuse in Durham, N.C. On The CW; at 2 p.m. in a network doubleheader that follows with No. 20 Georgia Tech hosting Florida State at 4 p.m.

Additionally, California is at Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. on the ACC network, while Stanford on the network is at Virginia at 6 p.m.

In the SEC, No. 6 South Carolina is at Vanderbilt in Nashville at 3 p.m.; No. 15 Tennessee is at Florida on the SEC Network at 1 p.m.; No. 16 Oklahoma is at Arkansas at 2 p.m.;  No. 7 LSU is at No. 14 Kentucky at 4 p.m.  on ESPN and No. 18 Alabama hosts Auburn at 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.

In the Big Ten No. 8 Ohio State hosts Purdue at noon on the Big Ten Network, No. 3 UCLA is at Iowa at 2 p.m. on Peacock; No. 22 Michigan State hosts Indiana at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten network; Northwestern is at Wisconsin at 3 p.m. in a game that decides who makes the cut and who doesn’t in next month’s conference tournament in Indianapolis; and No. 4 Southern Cal hosts No. 25 Illinois at 4 p.m. on FS1 ahead of Saturday’s second showdown in Los Angeles, this time at UCLA between the Trojans and Bruins.

In the Big 12, No.  17 West Virginia is at No. 10 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, at noon on ESPN2 while in the Big East No. 23 Creighton is at DePaul in Chicago at 3 p.m.  on FloSports.

And that’s the report.