Former Broward County high school basketball standout is now an Ivy League star

Columbia Lions women’s basketball fans have been known to wear shoes on their hands in celebration of their favorite player.

And why not?

Columbia’s 5-foot-11 senior shooting guard Abbey Hsu – pronounced ‘Shoe’ – leads the Ivy League in scoring (21.4), 3-pointers (46) and 3-point percentage (35.4).

A former Broward County standout for three years at Stoneman Douglas and one season at St. Thomas Aquinas, Hsu had a breakout season in 2022-2023. She was named first-team All-Ivy League, and she set the conference record with 112 3-pointers. She also set Columbia’s record for career 3-pointers and most 3-pointers in a game (11).

Hsu has also overcome multiple traumatic events in her life.

She was a 16-year-old junior at Douglas when 14 of her fellow students and three staff members were killed by a lone gunman.

At age 19, her father, Dr. Alex Hsu, became the first medical professional in South Florida to die from COVID.

“It’s definitely still a struggle,” Hsu said of her emotions. “But as every day goes by, it gets easier. Grief is weird like that. You never find a fix to it, but you find different ways to cope.

“I think the people I surround myself with have helped a lot. I met my girlfriend around the time of my dad’s passing, and she has helped me a lot as well as family and the whole Columbia staff. I’m with them every day.

“There’s not a day when I’m by myself or down. I surrounded by people who love and support me.”

Thanks to that love and support, Hsu has carried on, and her career has soared.

One of Hsu’s biggest thrills came last season – in front of her home fans – when Hsu led Columbia to its first-ever conference title in women’s basketball.

Hsu’s sense of humor shows through when the subject is the title-clinching 69-64 win over Cornell.

“We clinched on Senior Night,” Hsu said, “and we made it dramatic as possible, winning in overtime.”

This season, she wants more than just a regular-season title.

“I want to win Ivy League Player of the Year,” Hsu said, “and I want to go to the NCAA Tournament.”

To reach that second feat, Hsu’s Lions will have to win the four-team Ivy League tournament, set for Columbia’s gym in New York City, March 15-16. The Lions (12-5) had won 10 straight games before falling at Princeton, 80-65, on Saturday.

Last season, the Lions finished 28-6, but they did not make the NCAA Tournament. After winning the league’s regular-season title, they lost in the Ivy tournament semifinals in overtime, 72-65 to Harvard.

The Lions were then selected for the WNIT, and they won five straight games before losing to Kansas in the championship game, 66-59. Still, Columbia became the first Ivy League squad to reach the WNIT finale.

Columbia coach Megan Griffith, who inherited a 12-17 team in 2016 and proceeded to turn the program around, knew she wanted Hsu on her side after watching her play just five seconds for her club team, the Miami Suns, at a tournament in Orlando.

“She was just a sophomore, and she pulled up in transition and swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key,” Griffith said.

“I said: ‘That’s the kid!’ She was confident and humble at the same time. There was no hint of arrogance – just, ‘This is what I do.’

“One play was all it took. What I was looking for, she had it.”

Griffith was right, of course.

After leading Aquinas to a second-place finish at state as a senior, Hsu averaged 14.3 points as a Columbia freshman, making second-team All-Ivy. She led the league in 3-point shooting (41.1 percent), and her marksmanship was even better against conference opponents (43.4).

After sitting out the COVID season (2020-2021), Hsu made All-Ivy second team again, averaging 16.4 points. She also set a school record with a 19-point quarter against Massachusetts.

Last season, she led the Ivy League in scoring (17.8), and she ranked second in the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.29). She scored what is still her career-high 35 points in a win over Harvard, making 13-of-18 shots, including 6-of-10 from deep, and she averaged 19.7 points in Columbia’s run to the WNIT final.

Hsu – unsurprisingly -- said she studies the game of NBA star Stephen Curry.

“I watch how he never stops moving,” Hsu said. “You can’t just stop after one cut.

“(Columbia’s coaches) have pushed me to step up my game on defense and become more than just a shooter.”

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Hsu is that she has never missed a game or a start in her four seasons at Columbia. She has made 109 consecutive starts.

Barring the unforeseen, she will break Camille Zimmerman’s school record of 112 starts when Columbia plays host to Dartmouth on Feb. 3.

HSU, an Economics major with a 3.1 grade-point average, is hoping to play pro ball after this season, and Griffith believes it’s an attainable goal.

“Her catch-and-shoot percentages are unreal – over 60 percent,” Griffith said. “Now she has to create more, but she can come off ball screens and make good decisions.

“I think there’s a high chance she’s on a lot of draft boards. She’s one of the top five shooters in the nation.”