Megan Griffith

Last updated
Megan Griffith
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Columbia
Conference Ivy League
Record122–83 (.595)
Biographical details
Born (1985-09-04) September 4, 1985 (age 38)
Playing career
2003–2007 Columbia
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2012–2016 Princeton (assistant)
2016–present Columbia
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 x Ivy League regular season (2023, 2024)
Awards
2 x Ivy League Coach of the Year (2023, 2024)

Megan Griffith (born September 4, 1985) is an American college basketball coach and current head coach of the Columbia Lions women's basketball team. [1] Since joining Columbia in 2016, Griffith has built up the program and led the Lions to the winningest stretch in the program's NCAA Division I history. [2] She is the all-time winningest coach in program history. Griffith coached the team to its first regular season Ivy League title in 2023. [3] The Lions repeated as champions in 2024 and went on to earn the program's first berth into the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. [4]

Contents

Griffith is the former assistant women's basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Princeton. [5] During Griffith's time at Princeton, the Tigers reached the postseason each year and earned five Ivy League titles. [6]

Biography

Early life and education

Griffith is from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and was a three-sport athlete at Villa Maria Academy, playing basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball. [7] As a basketball player, she was a two-time team captain and earned first team Main Line Times honors her junior and senior year. [8] Her team won the PIAA District 1 Championship in 2002. [9] [10] Griffith went on to play basketball for the Columbia Lions women's basketball team from 2003 to 2007, captaining the team for three seasons and earning All-Ivy honors in 2006 and 2007. [11] She scored a total of 1,061 career points, making her one of 12 Lions to score more than 1,000 points in her career. [12] [13] She majored in economics and was a two-time Academic All-Ivy selection. [14]

Professional career

After graduation, Griffith played professional basketball in Europe from 2007 to 2010. She was a member of the FoA Nice Basketball team in Forssa, Finland and was named MVP at the end of the 2007–08 season. [15] She played for Espoo from 2008 to 2009 and led the team to the National Finnish Championship and the Finnish Cup Championship titles. [16] During the 2009–10 season, she played for the Celeritas-Donar basketball team in Groningen, Netherlands. [17]

Columbia statistics

Sources [18]

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2003-04Columbia236029.6%33.3%77.4%0.81.00.5-2.6
2004-05Columbia2721338.7%34.7%83.9%2.23.51.50.07.9
2005-06Columbia3341038.7%35.7%73.5%3.05.51.7-15.2
2006-07Columbia2837836.0%28.9%76.6%2.43.82.0-13.5
Career105106137.1%32.3%76.6%2.23.61.40.010.1

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Columbia Lions (Ivy League)(2016–present)
2016–17 Columbia 13–143–11T–7th
2017–18 Columbia 8–212–128th
2018–19 Columbia 8–194–107th
2019–20 Columbia 17–108–64thPostseason not held
2020–21 Columbia Season Cancelled
2021–22 Columbia 25–712–22nd WNIT Quarterfinals
2022–23 Columbia 28–612–2T–1st WNIT Runner-Up
2023–24 Columbia 23–713–1T–1st NCAA Division I First Four
Columbia:122–84 (.592)54–44 (.551)
Total:122–84 (.592)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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The 2022–23 Columbia Lions women's basketball team represented Columbia University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lions, led by seventh-year head coach Megan Griffith, played their home games at Levien Gymnasium as members of the Ivy League. They finished the Ivy League season 12–2, winning a share of the title for the first time in program history. Columbia was the No. 2 seed at the 2023 Ivy League women's basketball tournament, but they fell to Harvard in the semifinals. After being the first team left out of the NCAA tournament field, the Lions accepted an auto-bid to the 2023 WNIT. They were the first Ivy League team to reach the semifinals or finals of the WNIT. Columbia lost to Kansas in the WNIT championship game.

The 2019–20 Columbia Lions women's basketball team represented Columbia University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lions, led by fourth-year head coach Megan Griffith, played their home games at Levien Gymnasium and were members of the Ivy League. They finished the season 17–10, 8–6 in Ivy League play to finish in fourth place. The Lions qualified for Ivy Madness for the first time in the program's 34-year history, but the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19.

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References

  1. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  2. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  3. ↑ "Columbia Wins First Ivy League Championship". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  4. ↑ "First Time Dancers! Women's Basketball Headed to NCAA Tournament". Columbia University Athletics. 2024-03-17. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  5. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  6. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  7. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  8. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  9. ↑ "CHAMPIONSHIPS AND AWARDS". Vmahs.org. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  10. ↑ "Winter Sports: Basketball Girls - Championship History". Piaad1.org. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  11. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  12. ↑ "Columbia Women's Basketball 2017-18 Record Book" (PDF). Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  13. ↑ "Hsu Scores 1,000th Point in Blowout Win". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  14. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  15. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  16. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  17. ↑ "Megan Griffith". Gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  18. ↑ "NCAA Statistics". NCAA.ORG. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
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