Women's Basketball Tops St. Francis Brooklyn, 49-45
BOX SCORE | Post-Game Interview
NEW YORK - Columbia women's basketball finished out the 2012 home season with a bang as the Lions defeated St. Francis Brooklyn 49-45 Tuesday night in Levien Gym.
Columbia (2-8) snapped a five-game losing skid to hand St. Francis (2-6) its sixth consecutive loss.
The Lions rallied with a 9-0 run to comeback from a ear;y seven-point deficit and take a 20-18 lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half. Sara Mead drained two consecutive three-pointers to extend the Lions' run to 15-0, giving Columbia a 26-18 advantage as the Lions did not miss a basket for five consecutive posessions.
A layup by Casey Cummings at the 3:41 mark halted Columbia's surge to make it 26-20.
Miwa Tachibana kept things exciting as she knocked one down beyond the arc with nine seconds on the clock, sending the Lions into the locker room with a lofty 31-23 lead.
A much slower pace overcame the second half, during which the teams alternated scores until the Terriers posted seven unanswered points to cut the Lions lead to three, 38-35, with 5:28 to go.
A Tyler Simpson layup at the 4:49 mark broke up the Terriers' run, but St. Francis stayed alive as Eilidh Simpson converted both attempts from the charity stripe to make it 40-37.
Courtney Bradford came through in a major way for Columbia in the final minutes of the game. A crucial steal by Bradford with 2:30 remaining resulted in a Taylor Ward layup with 1:38 on the clock. Then, a huge tip by Bradford secured possession for the Lions with just over a minute to play. Bradford made it count by sinking both tries from the line to extend the Lions' lead, 44-39. St. Francis responded with a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to make it 44-42, but a three-point play by Taylor Ball put the game away for good.