Feb. 25, 2006

Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Columbia's Shasta Henderson banked home a jumper from the left wing with just four seconds remaining to give the Lions a 59-57 win on Saturday night in Lee Amphitheater. It was a back-and-forth game all night, with eight ties, and nine lead changes. Erica Davis (Columbus, N.J) led the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points, while Columbia's Megan Griffith led all players with 19.

The first half set the tone for the contest, with four ties and six lead changes in the stanza alone. The largest lead of the half was a six point Yale lead with just 46 seconds in the half. A Lions free-throw by Griffith sent the teams to the break with the Bulldogs holding onto a 34-29 lead. The lead could have been larger for Yale, but they converted only seven of 14 attempts from the charity stripe.

Sara McCollum (Old Lyme, Conn.) picked up 10 of her game-high 13 rebounds in the half.

The Bulldogs controlled the opening minutes of the second half, temporarily extending the lead back out to six points after a pair of Chinenye Okafor (Rolla, Mo.) free throws to put the score at 41-35. She finished the night with 12 points.

Columbia then went on a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to turn the tables on the Bulldogs, giving them a four point lead at 47-43 with 8:11 left.

With her team down, Davis started to assert herself on the blocks, scoring three of Yale's next four field goals and assisting on the fourth, a three from Jamie Van Horne (Healdsburg, Calif.). This string put Yale back on top by the score of 52-49 with less than five minute left.

Yale had a three-point lead on three occasions in the closing minutes, but couldn't build a two-possession lead, leaving the door open for Columbia.

With the score at 57-54 and just 1:51 on the clock, Columbia's Griffith slashed toward the basket, hitting the lay up and picking up a foul. She converted the old fashioned three-point play to tie the contest at 57-57 with less than a minute left.

Yale turned the ball over on the ensuing possession giving Columbia time to set up one last play after taking a timeout with 26 seconds left. Griffith drew a pair of defenders to herself, and then dished the ball to Henderson who banked home the game winner from the left wing.

The Bulldogs frantically pushed the ball up-court and gave it to Van Horne, but her deep bomb fell short as time expired, giving Columbia the win.

The Bulldogs fall to 3-22 (2-10 Ivy League) on the year, while the Lions improve to 6-19 (2-10 Ivy).

Yale closes out the regular season with one last road trip to Penn and Princeton, starting on Friday, March 3 at the Palestra. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m.