Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar women's basketball team picked up a home victory over conference opponent Hannibal-LaGrange University by a score of 79-61 on Thursday night at the Arena of Southwell Complex. Columbia, the 24^th-ranked team in Tuesday's latest release of the NAIA Women's Basketball Top 25 Poll, improves to 14-5 overall and 10-3 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) with the win.

Columbia got off to a strong start and led 25-8 midway into the first half. The Cougars continued to dominate on both ends of the floor throughout the remainder of the first period on their way to a 41-20 halftime advantage, shooting 50 percent from the field and holding the Trojans to 8 of 26 from the floor. Aqua Corpening and Corri Hamilton led the way for Columbia in the opening frame with 10 and 9 points, respectively. The Cougars led by double-digits over the remaining 20 minutes of play, leading by as many as 24 on their way to the regular season sweep over Hannibal-LaGrange.

Columbia hit 30 of 65 attempts from the floor to finish at 46 percent for the game while holding the Trojans to a 42 percent clip. Hamilton led four Columbia players in double figures with a career-high 23 points. Corpening added 18 points and Ashley Fisher chipped in 11 to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Amber Percival rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with 10 points on the night while Kei'yana Pearson dished out six of the Cougars' 12 assists.

Columbia will hit the road on Saturday, February 24^th for a conference matchup with Williams Baptist College. The Cougars defeated WBC 92-70 at home in their last meeting back on November 22^nd. Saturday's contest is set for a 2:00 pm start in Walnut Ridge, Ark.