Columbia women's basketball survives overtime, earns first win over Butler

Columbia survived a scrappy Butler squad 74-69 in overtime on the road, earning a gritty early-season win that head coach Megan Griffith believes can shape their identity.

“I think the beauty of a game like that is always that you’re going to get to see how they’re going to show up when the chip’s on the table,” Griffith said. “I was really proud that we showed up and didn’t back down from a challenge.”

Being disruptive on defense isn’t new for Columbia, but it was a significant reason why they won on Friday night. They forced 29 Butler turnovers and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds en route to the win. 

Now, it’s about growing their mental toughness – and this overtime win was a step forward in that regard. 

“We’ve become a program built on toughness, not just talent and being skilled basketball players,” Griffith said. “Now we have a lot of skilled players and a bunch of talent, but our toughness and mental toughness specifically sometimes lacks. So we tell them, this is going to be hard and we have to embrace the hard way. Learning to like doing hard things together.”

Although they’ll fly home with the victory, the Bulldogs didn’t make it easy on them. 

“We were pressing and turning them over, but we weren’t necessarily reaping the benefits of our turnovers,” she said. “It wore on us, playing into the shot clock… Austin [Parkinson] runs good stuff.”

Senior Perri Page has been the X-factor for this team in the past, according to Griffith. Now, it’s her time to switch gears and be the best player on both ends of the floor. 

“Talk about a kid who’s just a dog in every sense of the word,” Griffith said. “She wants to be the best and I don’t think she knows where that is, which is why sometimes she gets lost. Sometimes you just have to tell her clearly, ‘Hey, this is what you’ve got to do and that’s going to be the best. That’s what we need from you.’ Right now, she’s juggling that, like, ‘I’ve been the X-factor, but can I be the best player on both ends?’ We need to get her as confident as possible so that she can get there.”

Alongside leading scorer Riley Weiss who scored 27 points in the win, Page’s intensity and growth made the difference tonight. She scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded six steals in the win.

“There’s space now…,” Griffith added. “I keep telling her, ‘We’re going to go as you go. You have to realize you’re such an emotional barometer for this team that you can rise and sink the temperature.’ As long as she embraces that and realizes she needs to be more steady, the sky is the limit for us.” 

Columbia’s schedule doesn’t slow down from here. They’ll face several top programs in their non-conference slate including Richmond, South Dakota State and North Carolina. 

But the Lions won’t be overlooked. 

“We’re wearing a big target on our back,” she said of what the team can take from last night’s game. “They know how good we are…So we need to approach every game knowing that, but with more confidence in what we’re trying to execute.”