Hannibal, Mo. - The No. 20 Women's basketball team defeated Hannibal-LaGrange 74-73 tonight on the road in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) opener for both teams. Columbia improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play with the victory while the Trojans fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in league play.

The two squads were tied at 24-24 towards the end of the first half after a back and forth start to the contest. Columbia would hold the lead over the remainder of the half and take a 39-34 advantage into the halftime break after shooting 39 percent (14 of 36) from the field and holding the Trojans to 36 (12-33) percent.

The Cougars would take their biggest lead of the half at 41-34 but minutes later the Trojans would go on an 8-0 run to take the 44-43 advantage. Neither team was able to gain any separation over the next 13 minutes with the largest lead being three. The game was down to the wire with Hannibal tying the game 73-73 with 29 seconds left in the game. With eight seconds left Ashley Fisher drew a foul and went to the free-throw line, where she made one of two for a 74-73 Columbia lead. Hannibal had one last attempt to pull off the upset, but Morgan Winkler's three point attempt was off the mark to preserve the win for the Cougars.

The Cougars shot 38 percent (27 of 71) for the game led by Corri Hamilton with 16 points. Ashley Fisher finished with 15 points and a team high nine rebounds to help Columbia finish with a 34-32 edge on the glass while Aqua Corpening dropped in 10 points. Ashleigh HurdSpencer finished the night with a double-double with a game high 24 points and 12 rebounds for Hannibal LaGrange.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, November 22^nd when they host AMC opponent Williams Baptist College. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Arena of Southwell Complex.