The Columbia women’s basketball team won its first Ivy League Championship this year, rallying from twelve points down against Cornell on the final day of the regular season to earn a 69–64 overtime victory. A standing-room-only crowd of 2,600 people packed into Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium and watched anxiously as Cornell nearly pulled off an upset against the heavily favored Lions (28–6 overall, 12–2 Ivy), but then erupted in celebration when, in the game’s waning seconds, senior guard Jaida Patrick cut through the Big Red’s defense, caught a pass from senior teammate Carly Rivera, and sank the basket that sealed the win. The Lions then made a deep run in the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament, beating Fairleigh Dickinson, Fordham, Syracuse, Harvard, and Bowling Green before falling to Kansas in the championship game.
