Box Score St. Louis, Mo. - The Lady Cougar basketball team ran their record to 14-5 overall and 10-1 in conference play with an 81-61 victory over American Midwest Conference (AMC) opponent Missouri Baptist on Saturday night at Maryville University's Moloney Arena. Columbia has now won 10 of their last 11 games dating back to December 28^th.

The Lady Cougars raced out to an early 12-1 lead as Ashley Fisher knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the opening minutes of the first half. The Spartans came back over the next eight minutes to grab a brief 23-22 advantage, but Columbia would answer with an 11-0 run on their way to a 38-32 halftime lead. The Lady Cougars were outrebounded 22-13 in the frame, but managed to shoot 48 percent from the field.

The two squads would trade baskets to begin the second half, with Columbia stretching their lead out to 52-40 on a steal and layup by Petrolina Chilaka with 13:30 to play. Missouri Baptist responded with a 6-0 run to pull within six, but the Lady Cougars would outscore the Spartans 21-10 over the next ten minutes to put the game away.

Columbia hit 31 of 66 attempts from the floor to finish at 47 percent for the game. Fisher and Janairrika Bland led the way for the Lady Cougars with 18 points each on the night, with Chilaka and Heather English adding 10 and 12 points respectively. Fisher also pulled down seven rebounds and Tierney Seifert dished out a game-high seven assists. Kristyne Smyth led all scorers with 28 points for Missouri Baptist.

Columbia will be off until Thursday, January 30^th to prepare for an AMC showdown with league rival William Woods University. The Lady Cougars defeated the Owls 76-61 in their first meeting of the year in Fulton, Mo. back on December 5^th. Game time is set for 5:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.