At a stoppage of play with less than three minutes remaining Saturday, seniors Kitty Henderson and Cecelia Collins turned to the Levien Gymnasium crowd and waved.
This was it.
Their final bow in front of their home crowd.
Their last time playing at Columbia was nearly in the books.
Another program first was in the queue.
The seniors hugged one another and a few teammates as they made their way to the bench, checking out of the game for the final time.
Columbia had spent the past two hours bullying Cornell, making the Big Red look small.
Collins had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Henderson added 14 points and nine assists to lead the Lions to an easy 91-58 win that clinched Columbia its first outright Ivy League regular season title.
The game’s final horn was met with the sound of confetti cannons, which sprayed blue-and-white paper onto the court.
Friends, family members and students stormed the court to join the team’s celebration as “All I Do Is Win” blasted from the gym’s speakers.
Moments like this were what coach Megan Griffith had hoped to bring to her alma mater when she took over the program back in 2016.
“I don’t know if it all hit me yet,” Griffith said, “but I have gratitude.”
For the first nearly 30 years of its existence, the Columbia women’s basketball program took up residency as a bottom-tier team.
The Lions had more single-digit win seasons than 10-plus victory campaigns.
The early days of Griffith’s tenure were tough.
But the recent successes have made it all worth it.
Columbia is in the midst of its best four-year stretch in program history.
The Lions have won at least 22 games each season during this span.
“Sometimes, you just gotta look up and be like, ‘Wow. These people, they really believe in what we’re doing,’” Griffith said, “and to me, that’s what’s so special. We’re not just winning basketball games, we’re creating community here.”
The Lions closed out their season with a 14-1 run and seem destined again for the Big Dance.
“There’s nothing like it,” Collins said as she took in the happiness that swarmed her like a warm hug. “I’m definitely feeling like a mix of emotions right now… But it’s not over yet. I’m trying to hold my tears but we have so much more to accomplish.”
During the senior day ceremony before the game, Henderson pulled Griffith in for a long hug at center court.
For the past four years, Henderson helped elevate Columbia to heights the program never reached.
The Lions made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024.
They’ve clinched at least a share of three straight Ivy League regular-season titles.
Henderson was a part of all of that, in part, because of the coach who had convinced her to move across an ocean — more than 9,900 miles — away from home.
“I just always believed in coach G’s vision,” Henderson said. “I just think I’m so grateful to see it coming to life.”
It’s players like Henderson and Collins, though, who have helped Griffith make Columbia a budding Ivy powerhouse.
Becoming outright regular season champions — and earning the Lions’ third consecutive share of the Ivy title — checked the first box on Columbia’s list of goals for this month.
“We have unfinished business,” Henderson said. “This is not the end, and we have to keep going. So celebrate today, and then tomorrow, we’re onto the next one.”
Columbia will be the No. 1 seed in the Ivy League tournament, which opens Friday.
The Lions will play either Brown or Penn, who are tied for fourth in the league standings. (A tiebreaker will be determined Sunday by the NET rankings.)
The Lions have the chance to continue capturing program firsts, including at the Ivy League Tournament, which Columbia has never won.
They also want to make noise in the NCAA Tournament.
“This isn’t the end goal,” Griffith said as she gestured to the celebration happening around her. “This is just part of the journey. And so as long as we can stay focused on each part of the journey, I think we’re gonna keep climbing. We’re gonna keep doing things. We have not maxed out our potential. I know that.”