Fulton, Mo. The Cougar women's basketball team saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night as American Midwest Conference foe William Woods University rolled to a 84-72 home win. With the loss, Columbia drops to 12-5 overall and 8-3 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) while the Owls improve to 11-5 (7-4 AMC).

William Woods scored five straight points to open the first half and built an early 23-13 lead at the 11:16 mark. The Owls continued to control the game over the remainder of the period and took a 43-32 advantage into the halftime break after shooting 45 percent from the field. The Cougars struggled offensively at 38 percent and were led by Aqua Corpening, totaling 13 points.

The Owls used a 9-1 run to begin the second half to extend their lead out to 54-31 with 16:30 remaining. From there, the Cougars cut the deficit to 11 after scoring 12 unanswered points capped off by a Caprese Marshall three pointer at the 13:17 minute mark. The Owls maintained a double-digit lead over the next five minutes, but Columbia was able to use a five point run to come within nine. That would be the closest the Cougars would come as Woods stretched their lead back out to double digits and led by as many as 15 on their way to victory.

Columbia hit 26 of 71 attempts from the floor to finish at 37 percent for the game. The Cougars were led by Corri Hamilton with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Corpening and Ashley Fisher also finished in double figures with 15 points apiece. Hamilton also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while Marshall handed out a game-high seven assists.  Dennisha Rice led William Woods with 24 points, who shot 46 percent from the field (25 of 54) on the night.

Columbia was set to play Benedictine University-Springfield on Saturday, January 17^th, but due to lack of players, the Bulldogs were forced to forfeit the contest. The Cougars will return home to host Hannibal LaGrange on Thursday, January 22^nd. Thursday's game will also be part of the annual Suits and Sneakers event to benefit Coaches vs Cancer. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.