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AP Basketball Writer
The Associated Press |
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NEW YORK - Judie Lomax has left an indelible mark at Columbia
in two years at the school.
She became the school's first Ivy League player of the
year Thursday, helping to lead the Lions to the best season
in school history. Lomax is also poised to be the first
player in NCAA history to lead the nation in rebounding in
consecutive seasons.
Standing just under 6 feet tall, the junior tops the country
with 14.2 rebounds a game-nearly 1.5 rebounds better than
her nearest competitor. She led the nation last season with
14.3. Despite playing only two years at Columbia after
transferring from Oregon State, she's second on the
school's career rebounding list with 799. She's
only behind Kathy Gilbert, who had 937 rebounds in four years.
"For Judie Lomax to lead the nation in rebounding for
two consecutive seasons is unprecedented," Columbia
coach Paul Nixon said. "When she did it last year, we
didn't win as many games, we didn't play as tough
a schedule. But when you look at the schedule that
we've played, this record for her is legitimate. She
has played the highest level of Division I competition."
Lomax finished her regular season with 21 rebounds against
Yale last Friday and then grabbed a school-record 27 on
Saturday against Brown. That helped Columbia (18-10) finish
off its first winning season since starting Division I play
in 1986. The Lions finished third in the conference and are
hoping for a WNIT bid, which would be the school's
first postseason experience.
If they do get a bid on Monday it will be in no small part
because of Lomax, who also led the Ivy League in scoring
(18.6 points), steals (2.6) and minutes played (37.6). She
also was second in the conference in field goal percentage,
hitting 54 percent of her shots. She became the first
Columbia player ever to be recognized on the league's
first team twice.
Lomax expanded her game offensively and scored 20 or more
points 12 times this season, including a pair of 30-point
games against Wagner and Cornell. She also used her unique
combination of power and quickness to set a single-season
school record in steals with 72.
"I really wanted to work on my offense this year and not
just be known as a rebounder," she said.
Lomax has one semester of eligibility left at Columbia and is
considering coming back to play next year for the second
semester. The Ivy League only allows an athlete nine
semesters to play. Because Lomax had to sit out a year after
transferring, she only has one left.
"It's definitely something I've thought
about," Lomax said. "I had so many goals when I
first got here and winning an Ivy League championship was
one of them. I will take my time and decide when the time is right."
By DOUG FEINBERG
© 2010 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
