Columbia Lions women's basketball

The Columbia Lions women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Columbia University. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Lions play home basketball games at the Levien Gymnasium in New York, New York, on the university campus. Columbia has won three Ivy League championships. The team has been coached by Megan Griffith since 2016.

History After the 2023–24 season, the Lions have a 442–718 record since beginning play in 1984 after Columbia went co-ed in 1983. They joined the Ivy League in women's basketball in 1986 after two seasons in Division III play. The women's teams used to be known as the Barnard Bears, named for the affiliated women's college of the same name. For their first 23 seasons, they never finished higher than fourth in the eight-team conference. They received their first NCAA Tournament bid as an at-large bid in 2024, leaving only Yale as the one Ivy League team to never make the women's tournament. They won the Ivy regular season title once again in the 2024-25 season but lost in the championship game of the Ivy Tournament to Harvard. However, Columbia would receive an at-large bid to reach their second straight NCAA Tournament.

1984–85 19–7 n/a Nancy Kalafus 1985–86 21–6 n/a Nancy Kalafus 1986–87 8–16 2–12 Nancy Kalafus 1987–88 12–14 4–10 Nancy Kalafus 1988–89 12–14 5–9 Nancy Kalafus 1989–90 12–14 5–9 Nancy Kalafus 1990–91 10–16 5–9 Nancy Kalafus 1991–92 4–22 1–13 Kerry Phayre 1992–93 7–19 1–13 Kerry Phayre 1993–94 4–22 2–12 Kerry Phayre 1994–95 0–26 0–14 Kerry Phayre 1995–96 2–24 1–13 Kerry Phayre 1996–97 6–20 3–11 Jay Butler 1997–98 4–22 0–14 Jay Butler 1998–99 6–20 2–12 Jay Butler 1999–2000 7–19 6–8 Jay Butler 2000–01 9–18 6–8 Jay Butler 2002–03 11–16 4–10 Jay Butler 2003–04 12–14 6–8 Jay Butler 2004–05 12–15 5–9 Traci Waites/Tory Verdi 2005–06 6–21 2–12 Paul Nixon 2006–07 8–20 4–10 Paul Nixon 2007–08 10–18 7–7 Paul Nixon 2008–09 13–15 6–8 Paul Nixon 2009–10 18–10 9–5 Paul Nixon 2010–11 7–21 6–8 Paul Nixon 2011–12 3–25 1–13 Paul Nixon 2012–13 5–23 3–11 Paul Nixon 2013–14 6–22 3–11 Stephanie Glance 2014–15 8–20 2–12 Stephanie Glance 2015–16 12–17 1–13 Sheila Roux 2016–17 13–14 3–11 Megan Griffith 2017–18 8–21 2–12 Megan Griffith 2018–19 8–19 4–10 Megan Griffith 2019–20 17–10 8–6 Megan Griffith 2020–21 Season Cancelled Due to Covid 2021–22 25–7 12–2 Megan Griffith 2022–23 28–6 12–2 Megan Griffith 2023–24 23–7 13-1 Megan Griffith

All-Time Coaching Records Nancy Kalafus 1984–91 (7) 94–87 .519 21–49 .300 Kerry Phayre 1991–96 (5) 17–113 .131 5–65 .071 Jay Butler 1996–04 (8) 67–143 .319 33–79 .295 Traci Waites 2004–05 (<1) 9–8 .529 2–2 .500 Tory Verdi 2004–05 (<1) 3–7 .300 5–7 .417 Paul Nixon 2005–13 (8) 70–153 .314 39–74 .345 Stephanie Glance 2013–15 (2) 14–42 .250 5–23 .178 Sheila Roux 2015–16 (1) 12–17 .414 1–13 .071 Megan Griffith 2016–pres. (8) 122–84 .592 54–44 .551

Postseason appearances NCAA Division I Columbia has appeared in two NCAA Tournaments. They have a record of 1–2. 2024 12 First Four (12) Vanderbilt L 68–722025 11 First FourFirst round (11) Washington(6) West Virginia W 63–60L 59–78

WNIT Columbia has appeared in two Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). They have a record of 8–2 and a Runners-up in 2023. 2022 First roundSecond roundThird roundQuarterfinals Holy CrossOld DominionBoston CollegeSeton Hall W 80–69W 62–59W 54–51L 75–782023 First roundSecond roundSuper 16Great 8Fab 4Championship GameFDUFordhamSyracuseHarvardBowling GreenKansasW 69–53W 78–73W 88–82W 77–71W 77–70L 59–66

WBIT Columbia has appeared in one Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). They have a record of 5–0 and won the Championship in 2026. 2026 First roundSecond roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship GameSt. John'sNorth Dakota StateCaliforniaWisconsinBYU W 74–26W 86–57W 74–68W 67–50W 81–64

2019–Present Megan Griffith's tenure as head coach has brought about a marked improvement in the Lions' standing in both the Ivy League conference and overall. In the 2019–20 season, the team qualified for the Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time. They finished second in the 2022 Ivy League tournament, losing in the finals to Princeton. In 2022, Columbia began receiving votes in the AP poll for the first time in program history. In 2023, the team won a share of the Ivy League women’s basketball title, also for the first time in program history. On March 17, 2023, Griffith became the winningest head coach in program history after picking up her 95th career win.

Notable players on the Columbia Women's Basketball roster include junior Abbey Hsu, 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Semifinalist and 2022–23 First Team All-Ivy League, and senior Kaitlyn Davis, 2021–22 and 2022–23 First Team All-Ivy League. Both players joined the 1,000-point club in the 2022–23 season, along with senior Sienna Durr, becoming the 12th, 13th, and 14th Lions to do so in program history. On January 28, 2023, Kaitlyn Davis made history as the first player to ever record a triple-double in Columbia Women's Basketball history.

The Lions made Ivy League history two seasons in a row, being the first Ivy League team to reach the WNIT quarterfinals in 2022 and the first to reach the semifinals or finals in 2023.

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