Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar women's basketball team returned to action tonight, earning a 72-54 home victory over 15^th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University. Columbia improves to 5-4 on the year with the win, while the Pioneers drop to 8-3 on the season.

Columbia leading 7-6, used a 13-3 run to take control of the first half and led by as many as 16 on their way to a 41-25 advantage at the halftime break. The Cougars hit on 14 of 28 attempts (50 percent) from the field in the opening period, while holding the Pioneers to a 26 percent clip and forcing 10 turnovers. The Cougars also hit 5 of 9 (55 percent) from behind the arc in the opening period. Columbia led by doubles digits throughout the second half and stretched their lead out to 22 with a little over six minutes to play on their way to the convincing victory.

The Cougars shot 39 percent on the night, while holding MNU to 31 percent for the game. Ashley Fisher led all scorers with 20 points. Aqua Corpening had 18 points and Corri Hamilton chipped in 11 points. Kayla Washington logged a season-high 11 rebounds in the contest.

Columbia will travel to 22^nd-ranked University of the Cumberlands for their next game on Saturday, December 13^th. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CST in Williamsburg, Ky.