Box Score Hannibal, Mo. - The Columbia Lady Cougar basketball team used a late second half rally to defeat American Midwest Conference (AMC) opponent Hannibal-LaGrange University on the road by a score of 70-62 on Saturday afternoon. Columbia, ranked No. 19 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, improves to 10-4 overall and 6-0 in conference play with the victory.

The Lady Cougars trailed 16-13 midway through the first half, but used a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to grab their largest lead of the frame at 23-16. However, the Trojans would answer back and outscore Columbia 20-10 during the remainder of the period to take a 36-33 advantage into the halftime break. Hannibal-LaGrange connected on 15 of 26 attempts (58 percent) from the field in the opening half, compared to just 32 percent (9 of 28) for the Lady Cougars.

The Trojans maintained the lead to begin the second half, but Columbia battled back to tie the score at 42 on a three-pointer by Aqua Corpening with 13:45 to play. With the score tied at 56 following a pair of 5-0 runs by each team, Hannibal-LaGrange rattled off a 6-1 spurt for a 62-57 lead at the 3:50 mark. Tierney Seifert would knock down a key three on the Lady Cougars' next possession and Columbia forced a pair of turnovers by the Trojans on their next two trips, leading to a go-ahead three-pointer by Petrolina Chilaka with 2:26 remaining in regulation. The Lady Cougar defense took over from there, holding Hannibal-LaGrange scoreless over the final minutes to cap off the comeback win.

Columbia struggled offensively for much of the game, finishing at 36 percent from the field while hitting 24 of 32 attempts from the free throw line. Chilaka led three Lady Cougars in double figures with 14 points and Corri Hamilton and Kayla Washington adding 11 apiece. The Trojans shot 46 percent for the game and were led by Ashleigh Hurd-Spencer with a game-high 21 points.

Columbia will return home to host AMC newcomer Mid-Continent (Ky.) University on Tuesday, January 14^th. Tip-off is set for 5:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.