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PROVIDENCE — Megan Griffith didn’t waste any time stating her case.
Columbia was about 20 minutes removed from a loss to Harvard in the Ivy Madness women’s basketball championship game, and its coach was ready for a next challenge.
What took place at Brown University's Pizzitola Center on this Saturday night was a high-level thriller, a matchup that wasn’t decided until a potential tying 3-pointer by Riley Weiss rimmed out at the buzzer. The Crimson slipped away with a 74-71 victory and a first March Madness berth since 2007.
Harmoni Turner’s two-night scoring barrage and corresponding Most Valuable Player honor overcame a program that’s won or shared the last three conference regular season titles. The Lions entered with just a single defeat in their last 17 games and firmly in postseason consideration alongside rivals Harvard and Princeton. The Crimson are the only member of that trio certain to hear their names called thanks to this automatic bid.
“I’m confident we’re going to be selected,” Griffith said. “It’s not even a conversation in my mind. We’re going to the NCAA Tournament.”
Griffith’s opinion came thanks to a place inside the top 50 of the NET rankings as the sun set Friday. Columbia owns a season sweep against the Tigers, a road win against Harvard and two more triumphs against conference champions – Ball State in the Mid-American and Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun.
“Put three of us in, please,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore said.
Moore, Turner, Elena Rodriguez and Karlee White practically bounded onto the press conference stage upstairs from the playing floor. They all seemed to carry a limitless reserve of energy despite just persevering through 40 minutes of supreme competition. Rodriguez missed what could have been the clinching layup inside the final 10 seconds, and the Lions inbounded to Weiss in the frontcourt with 5.2 seconds left and a chance to draw even.
“I think being tired is a mindset,” Turner said. “We knew that the championship was on the line and we knew Columbia was going to punch.”
The Crimson (24-4) didn’t trail over the last 27:43, but that didn’t mean they were ever comfortable. Columbia didn’t fall behind by more than eight points and tied it for the sixth time when Cecelia Collins knocked in two free throws to make it 65-65 with 3:19 to play. Turner answered with a pair at the line and White ran out a steal for a layup to leave the Lions (23-6) chasing over the final 2:40.
“We will never be too tired to win a championship,” White said. “We’ve sacrificed way too much to make it this far.”
Turner was fresh off a sensational 44-point outing in a 70-67 win over Princeton the previous night, setting a new facility record. The Tigers carried a NET rating of 47 after that defeat while Harvard checked in at 35. The Crimson don’t need to worry about what the selection committee might think of their credentials now.
“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said.
"We’ve been knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here. It’s just an incredible feeling.”
Moore paid tribute to former Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, who spent 40 years in Cambridge and guided the program to its six previous NCAA Tournament appearances. The Crimson hired a new sideline star away from Michigan six years after Griffith returned to elevate her alma mater. They both spent time as assistants at Princeton, a place where former Connecticut guard Carla Berube has built a power of her own since her 2019-20 debut.
“I just think we’ve got an injection of coaching – real coaching,” Griffith said. “Real styles being developed. Recruiting is happening at a really high level, and that’s what you're seeing.
“Abbey Hsu, Kaitlyn Davis, Harmoni Turner, Kitty Henderson – these are pros. You’re looking at WNBA pros, professionals overseas. Just so much talent in the league, and that was lacking when I was playing, quite frankly.
“I thought I was a good player, but these are players. I’m just really proud we can continue to bring a great product into our league.”
How many teams from the conference will showcase that ability on the grandest stage? Sunday night will provide the rest of the answers. We received one of them during the event’s first time here, and it would have been hard to imagine something better.
HARVARD (74): Gabby Anderson 2-2 0-0 4, Lydia Chatira 1-3 0-0 2, Elena Rodriguez 6-13 0-0 13, Harmoni Turner 9-20 3-4 24, Saniyah Glenn-Bello 0-4 0-0 0, Karlee White 6-7 0-0 12, Abigail Wright 2-5 4-4 8, Alayna Rocco 3-4 0-0 8, Katie Krupa 1-3 0-0 3; Totals 30-61 7-8 74.
COLUMBIA (71): Susie Rafiu 2-6 0-0 4, Perri Page 3-6 1-2 8, Cecelia Collins 6-17 5-6 18, Kitty Henderson 5-10 2-4 14, Riley Weiss 5-16 7-8 21, Mia Broom 1-2 0-0 3, Maria Arrebola 1-3 0-0 3, Marija Avlijas 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 23-60 15-20 71.
Halftime – H, 44-42. 3-pointers – H 7-21 (Chatira 0-1, Rodriguez 1-3, Turner 3-7, Glenn-Bello 0-3, Wright 0-1, Rocco 2-3, Krupa 1-3), C 10-26 (Page 1-3, Collins 1-5, Henderson 2-5, Weiss 4-10, Broom 1-1, Arrebola 1-2). Rebounds – H 31 (Wright 7), C 38 (Page 8). Assists – H 18 (Rodriguez 9), C 13 (Collins 6).
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Harvard women beat Columbia 74-71 to win Ivy Madness, head to NCAAs
Continue reading...
Columbia was about 20 minutes removed from a loss to Harvard in the Ivy Madness women’s basketball championship game, and its coach was ready for a next challenge.
What took place at Brown University's Pizzitola Center on this Saturday night was a high-level thriller, a matchup that wasn’t decided until a potential tying 3-pointer by Riley Weiss rimmed out at the buzzer. The Crimson slipped away with a 74-71 victory and a first March Madness berth since 2007.
Harmoni Turner’s two-night scoring barrage and corresponding Most Valuable Player honor overcame a program that’s won or shared the last three conference regular season titles. The Lions entered with just a single defeat in their last 17 games and firmly in postseason consideration alongside rivals Harvard and Princeton. The Crimson are the only member of that trio certain to hear their names called thanks to this automatic bid.
“I’m confident we’re going to be selected,” Griffith said. “It’s not even a conversation in my mind. We’re going to the NCAA Tournament.”
You must be registered for see images
Griffith’s opinion came thanks to a place inside the top 50 of the NET rankings as the sun set Friday. Columbia owns a season sweep against the Tigers, a road win against Harvard and two more triumphs against conference champions – Ball State in the Mid-American and Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun.
“Put three of us in, please,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore said.
You must be registered for see images
Moore, Turner, Elena Rodriguez and Karlee White practically bounded onto the press conference stage upstairs from the playing floor. They all seemed to carry a limitless reserve of energy despite just persevering through 40 minutes of supreme competition. Rodriguez missed what could have been the clinching layup inside the final 10 seconds, and the Lions inbounded to Weiss in the frontcourt with 5.2 seconds left and a chance to draw even.
“I think being tired is a mindset,” Turner said. “We knew that the championship was on the line and we knew Columbia was going to punch.”
The Crimson (24-4) didn’t trail over the last 27:43, but that didn’t mean they were ever comfortable. Columbia didn’t fall behind by more than eight points and tied it for the sixth time when Cecelia Collins knocked in two free throws to make it 65-65 with 3:19 to play. Turner answered with a pair at the line and White ran out a steal for a layup to leave the Lions (23-6) chasing over the final 2:40.
“We will never be too tired to win a championship,” White said. “We’ve sacrificed way too much to make it this far.”
Turner was fresh off a sensational 44-point outing in a 70-67 win over Princeton the previous night, setting a new facility record. The Tigers carried a NET rating of 47 after that defeat while Harvard checked in at 35. The Crimson don’t need to worry about what the selection committee might think of their credentials now.
“This was earned by every minute, every possession and every day that we were here,” Moore said.
"We’ve been knocking on the door every year that I’ve been here. It’s just an incredible feeling.”
You must be registered for see images
Moore paid tribute to former Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, who spent 40 years in Cambridge and guided the program to its six previous NCAA Tournament appearances. The Crimson hired a new sideline star away from Michigan six years after Griffith returned to elevate her alma mater. They both spent time as assistants at Princeton, a place where former Connecticut guard Carla Berube has built a power of her own since her 2019-20 debut.
“I just think we’ve got an injection of coaching – real coaching,” Griffith said. “Real styles being developed. Recruiting is happening at a really high level, and that’s what you're seeing.
“Abbey Hsu, Kaitlyn Davis, Harmoni Turner, Kitty Henderson – these are pros. You’re looking at WNBA pros, professionals overseas. Just so much talent in the league, and that was lacking when I was playing, quite frankly.
“I thought I was a good player, but these are players. I’m just really proud we can continue to bring a great product into our league.”
How many teams from the conference will showcase that ability on the grandest stage? Sunday night will provide the rest of the answers. We received one of them during the event’s first time here, and it would have been hard to imagine something better.
HARVARD (74): Gabby Anderson 2-2 0-0 4, Lydia Chatira 1-3 0-0 2, Elena Rodriguez 6-13 0-0 13, Harmoni Turner 9-20 3-4 24, Saniyah Glenn-Bello 0-4 0-0 0, Karlee White 6-7 0-0 12, Abigail Wright 2-5 4-4 8, Alayna Rocco 3-4 0-0 8, Katie Krupa 1-3 0-0 3; Totals 30-61 7-8 74.
COLUMBIA (71): Susie Rafiu 2-6 0-0 4, Perri Page 3-6 1-2 8, Cecelia Collins 6-17 5-6 18, Kitty Henderson 5-10 2-4 14, Riley Weiss 5-16 7-8 21, Mia Broom 1-2 0-0 3, Maria Arrebola 1-3 0-0 3, Marija Avlijas 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 23-60 15-20 71.
Halftime – H, 44-42. 3-pointers – H 7-21 (Chatira 0-1, Rodriguez 1-3, Turner 3-7, Glenn-Bello 0-3, Wright 0-1, Rocco 2-3, Krupa 1-3), C 10-26 (Page 1-3, Collins 1-5, Henderson 2-5, Weiss 4-10, Broom 1-1, Arrebola 1-2). Rebounds – H 31 (Wright 7), C 38 (Page 8). Assists – H 18 (Rodriguez 9), C 13 (Collins 6).
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Harvard women beat Columbia 74-71 to win Ivy Madness, head to NCAAs
Continue reading...
