Columbia University women’s basketball has a lot to live up to. Last season the team advanced to its first-ever NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, not to mention seeing two of the program’s alums picked in the WNBA Draft. A fact of life in college basketball is that student-athletes graduate but the team continues.
“I really believe that this could be the best team Columbia’s ever seen,” said head coach Megan Griffith, now in her ninth season. “We’re on a very long journey and trying to make every day count, get better every day, but also try to get to understand each other better. We have five newcomers, but we also have quite a lot of experience returning, which is very exciting.”
The tri-captains of the team are seniors Kitty Henderson and Cecelia Collins along with junior Perri Page. Henderson said that over the summer the returning players worked on aspects of their games that the coaches asked them to address. “Summer is where you can try new things and get better,” she said. “You can push yourself. I think we did a good job of challenging ourselves.”
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Collins noted that although the players were not all together — some had internships — they stayed in communication and held each other accountable, which they continue to do. “It’s obviously on us three to make sure we maintain that culture every single day, but at the same time down the line every person has to hold up their end of the bargain as well,” she said.
The team has several international players as well as people from different parts of the U.S. Page said when the team travels to cities in the U.S. where players are from, they’re able to introduce teammates to local sites and culture. She also shares her practice of visualization. “Putting yourself inside the game before the game actually happens,” Page said.
The team’s goals this season are big, among them winning the Ivy League outright (best record) and prevailing in the Ivy League Tournament, which will lead to a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. After the New York Liberty won their first WNBA title, the Columbia players felt a surge of energy and purpose to represent New York City in the best way possible.
“We’re playing in one of the greatest cities in the world,” said Griffith. “Basketball and New York are synonymous. To be the (premier women’s) college program in Manhattan…is a really special thing that we do not take lightly.”