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BYU's Olivia Hamlin (7) drives around a defender against Columbia in the WBIT Championship Game at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Arielle Mackey-Williams (8) walks off the court with her arm around a teammate after an 81-64 loss to Columbia in the WBIT Championship Game at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Delaney Gibb (right) reaches for a loose ball against Columbia in the WBIT Championship Game at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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The way BYU had been playing in the past ten games, facing Columbia in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament championship game seemed like a challenge the Cougars could take on.

Getting dismantled by an Ivy League team wasn’t in BYU’s game plan, but that’s exactly what happened.

The Cougars couldn’t overcome a dreadful first half and lost to Columbia 81-64 at Koch Arena in Wichita on Wednesday, a final score that doesn’t accurately reflect how thoroughly the Lions dominated for most of the game.

Columbia led by 18 at halftime and by 27 points with 7:13 to play. BYU may take a measure of solace after trimming the deficit to nine points, 72-63, with 53 seconds remaining. But the Cougars were never really in the game after a dismal first quarter and saw plenty of deficiencies exposed in the final game of the season.

“Tremendous effort by Columbia today,” BYU head coach Lee Cummard said. “I think coming into this, you could see how tough they were, how physical they were, how hard they played. I think for about the first 32 minutes of the game, they were the harder playing, tougher team. They showed some of their ways and experience in this moment.

“We got a little erratic and did some things when it didn’t go right early, then we turned into a little bit of just out of character for us. At least the way that we’ve been playing. It’s credit to them. They were dialed in.”

Sophomore Delaney Gibb led BYU with 24 points and freshman Olivia Hamlin added 17, but that was the result of volume shooting: The duo was a combined 17 of 45 (38%) from the field and 3 of 16 (19%) from the 3-point line.

“I think they (Columbia) just did a really great job of being tough, gritty and physical,” Gibb said. “They did a great job of just playing good straight-up defense and communicating well. It’s tough; I feel like we were out of rhythm, and it’s hard to try and get back into rhythm once you’re a little bit shaken up.”

The Cougars caused 22 turnovers and posted a season-best 21 steals, but only managed 17 points off of those turnovers. BYU had runs of 13-0 and 11-0 in 27-point fourth quarter but still lost by 17 points.

Perri Page led Columbia (25-8) with 23 points on 9 of 10 from the foul line and Riley Weiss added 20 points. The Lions consistently got to the foul line (25 of 35) and took advantage of BYU’s poor shooting to lead for more than 39 minutes of the game.

Columbia, which lost in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament to Harvard, vowed to recover and win the WBIT and completely outplayed the Cougars from the start.

BYU shot themselves out of contention in the first half, making just 9 of 39 (23.1%) on field goals and 2 of 9 (22.2%) from the 3-point line. Columbia is a good defensive team but the Cougars missed uncontested shots and layups as well. A 4-for-20 performance from the field (20%) to start the game saw BYU trailing by nine, 19-10, at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was no better and the Lions led 26-13 at the 7:08 mark after four points from Weiss. Late baskets from Weiss and Page gave Columbia a 42-24 lead at halftime.

If the Cougars had designs to come out strong in the second half that faded quickly with three turnovers on their first four possessions, which turned into seven straight points for the Lions and a 49-24 advantage.

Columbia took a 66-39 lead in the fourth quarter and the Cougars managed to chip away at the lead with pressure defense. But it wasn’t nearly enough to make up the deficit.

“They’re very well-coached and know exactly what they’re supposed to do, and they beat us today,” Cummard said. “We didn’t play great. We had some uncharacteristic things early, but they beat us. It’s a tremendous job by their staff how they had them focused and ready, and it’s going to be a great learning experience for us.”

BYU, which had won nine of 10 headed into the championship game, finished the season with a 26-12 overall record.