UNC Women’s Hoops Schedule Highlight: Columbia Game Preview

The North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team will have one final game in the 2025 Cancun Challenge against Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 1:30 p.m. Head coach Courtney Banghart and her squad will have already taken on South Dakota State and Kansas State before concluding with the Lions. Before UNC's trip to Mexico, it would have already faced UCLA, Fairfield, North Carolina A&T and UNC Greensboro.

Nov 25, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart celebrates with the Battle4Atlantis trophy after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Columbia, led by head coach Megan Griffith, is from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is also an alumna of the university, too, majoring in economics. This upcoming season will mark Griffith's 10th year as the program's head coach, given the title back in March of 2016. Griffith has led the Lions to two back-to-back NCAA Tournament selections over the past two seasons. And thus far holds a 100-27 record over the past four years, notching a 50-6 win-loss ratio within the Ive League.

Mar 28, 2025; Birmingham, AL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart signals in to her team during the Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game against the Duke Blue Devils at Legacy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

By the time North Carolina takes on the Lions, there will be a sense of who the main contributors and roles will be defined within the starting lineup and the rotation for the players coming off the bench. UNC brings in four freshmen: Nyla Brooks, Taliyah Henderson, Taissa Queiroz and Lisa Astakhova. Two transfers: Nyla Harris from Louisville and Elina Aarnisalo from UCLA. And returns key pieces: Lanie Grant, Reniya Kelly, Indya Nivar and others.

How Did Last Season End for Columbia?

Mar 7, 2025; Greensboro, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Lanie Grant (0) makes a 3 point shot against \Florida State Seminoles during the second quarter at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Columbia made it past Washington during the First Four game, winning 63-60, but fell to six-seed West Virginia in the Round of 64, by a score of 78-59. Ceceilia Collins led the Lions with 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists. And following were Riley Weiss and Kitty Henderson with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Off the bench with six points was Marija Avlijas.

Columbia coach Megan Griffith yells out plays from the baseline during the second half of Saturday's WNIT championship game inside Allen Fieldhouse. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overall, the 2024-2025 season for the Lions concluded with a 24-7 record, including wins over Stony Brook, Providence, Florida Gulf Coast, Pacific, Southern Miss, Ball State and more. But lost to Villanova, Duke, Indiana, Richmond and Harvard twice.

Weiss, a then-sophomore, averaged 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 41.3 percent shooting from the field. Collins, a then-senior, recorded 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 48.7 percent shooting. And Henderson, a then-senior, added 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 45.2 percent shooting.

This season will look different for Columbia, but it should still serve as another learning experience for the Tar Heels, win or lose.

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