Box Score Williamsburg, Ky. - The Lady Cougar basketball team fell to 21^st-ranked University of the Cumberlands by a score of 78-55 on Saturday afternoon. Columbia, the 13^th-ranked team in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll, drops to 2-3 on the season.

The Lady Cougars struggled on both ends of the court in the opening period, shooting just 38 percent from the field and committing 13 fouls. Cumberlands was able to take advantage of 16 trips to the free-throw line, knocking down 15 of those attempts to build a 41-28 halftime lead. Columbia cut the Patriots' advantage to single digits at 41-32 to start the second period, but a 16-5 run by the host squad put the game away as Cumberlands led by as many as 27 over the final 20 minutes.

The Lady Cougars shot 35 percent (15 of 43) for the game, led by Tierney Seifert with 11 points. Columbia owned a 33-29 rebounding advantage, but hit just 2 of 12 attempts from three-point range compared to 11 of 21 (52 percent) for the Patriots.

The Lady Cougars will be back on the road on Thursday, December 5^th when they kick off American Midwest Conference (AMC) play at 19^th-ranked William Woods University. The two teams met for the conference tournament championship last season, with Columbia claiming a 91-83 comeback win. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Fulton, Mo.