NEW YORK - Columbia women's basketball came out fast and grabbed an early lead as the Lions coasted to 62-51 Ivy League victory over Brown Friday night at Levien Gymnasium.

Columbia (3-17, 1-5) snapped a nine-game losing skid and picked up its first Ivy League victory of the season as Brown fell to 7-14 on the year and 1-6 in conference play.

Courtney Bradford got things started with a long jumper and Miwa Tachibana kept it going with seven straight points to give the Lions an opening 9-2 lead. En route to setting a new career high, Tachibana scored 16 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep. The Lions led by as much as 10 in the first half and did not look back the rest of the way thanks to hot-shooting at 60.9 percent (14-of-23) and a 15-9 advantage on the glass.

Tachibana's 16 points led the way for Columbia, with Taylor Ward close behind, scoring 14 on the night.

Overall, the Lions shot a season-best 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field and dominated the boards, grabbing 35 compared to just 20 by the Bears. Brittany Simmons pulled down a team-best nine boards to lead the Lions on the glass.

With the win, head coach Paul Nixon became the all-time NCAA Division I wins leader at Columbia for women's basketball. He has now notched 68 wins for his career, including 36 Ivy League victories.

Columbia will host its annual breast cancer fundraiser Saturday evening against Yale at 7 p.m. The Lions have participated in Pink Game Night since the 2007-08 season and have raised $21,484 for breast cancer research.

Half of all ticket proceeds will be donated to the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center for breast cancer research. Donations will also be collected at the game. Fairway Market will match all donations given at the Levien Gymnasium entrances.