Columbia reaches Super 16 in the WNIT

Before Monday night’s women’s basketball game between Columbia University and Fordham University, Columbia coach Megan Griffith was honored as the winningest coach in program history. By evening’s end, Griffith had increased her win total as Columbia edged Fordham 78–73 in a tight game that saw the lead change multiple times. With that victory, Columbia advanced to the Super 16 of the postseason WNIT.

“We left it all out there,” said Fordham’s interim head coach Candice Green. “We played our hearts out. All respect to Columbia, they played a fantastic game. There was a lot of up and down, a lot of nice shots.”

The top three scorers for Fordham were Jada Dapaa, Anna DeWolfe, and Asiah Dingle, who played all 40 minutes of what was her final collegiate game. Post-game, Dapaa spoke about raising her scoring thanks to Green’s confidence in her. “I’m honing in a lot on defense and getting rebounds,” Dapaa said. “Knowing [my teammates] trust me in giving me the ball and opportunities to score makes me trust myself.”

Griffith referred to the game as a great battle between two very experienced teams. “It was a fun game to coach; it was a fun game for these guys to play,” said Griffith. “Big time players on both sides of the ball.”

Top scorer for Columbia Abbey Hsu echoed Griffith’s sentiments. Other Lions in double figures were Kaitlyn Davis, Hannah Pratt, and Jaida Patrick. “We don’t like to keep it that close, but it’s March—they’re going to bring their best game,” said Hsu.

The Lions face Syracuse University at Levien Gymnasium on Friday. Syracuse earned its spot in the round of 16 by defeating Seton Hall University. While Griffith was clearly happy to be advancing in the WNIT, she is still frustrated that Columbia didn’t earn a spot in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.

“I thought we should have had two teams from the [Ivy] League in the Tournament,” said Griffith, noting that Princeton upset NC State in the first round. “We were better than [Princeton] the entire season until the very last week (Princeton won the Ivy League Tournament). Our net was higher. Our résumé was better. We beat them at least once. It makes no sense; we should have been in the Tournament.”