Columbia upped its winning streak to nine straight games following Ivy League road wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, earning NCAA.com Team of the Week honors.
In a key Ivy matchup against Harvard on Jan. 31, Columbia went on the road and torched Harvard’s No. 1-ranked defense, defeating the Crimson, 80-71. Harvard, which came into the game allowing an NCAA-best 50.9 points per game, surrendered a season-worst point total as the Lions cut through Harvard’s press throughout the game. Sophomore guard Riley Weiss led the attack with a new career-high of 26 points in the win, connecting on 5-for-9 from beyond the 3-point line, adding six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Columbia followed that up with a decisive 71-48 win on Saturday at Dartmouth as Weiss had a game-high 25 points, her third straight 25-point game. Weiss went 8-of-16 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from deep, also grabbing six rebounds. Weiss did all that in just 25 minutes, playing only eight minutes of a second half that turned into a runaway. Junior forward Susie Rafiu scored 12 points, eight of which came in the third quarter. Sophomore guard/forward Blau Tor registered career-highs of 11 points and nine rebounds.
Weiss is averaging 18.0 points per game and ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.25), No. 9 in total three’s (65) and top-10 in 3-point attempts (167). A native of Hewlett, New York, Weiss is shooting 38.9 percent from long range, which leads the Ivy League and ranks among the top-75 nationally.
Columbia received votes in Monday’s Associated Press Top-25 Women’s College Basketball Poll. The first-place Lions (16-4, 7-0 Ivy) continues Ivy League play this Saturday at Brown.
