Columbia, Mo. - The No. 24 ranked Columbia College women's basketball team dropped the NAIA Women's Basketball Game of the Week to the number one team in the country, Freed-Hardeman University by a score of 85-67 this afternoon. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 15-7 on the year and 11-5 in American Midwest Conference (AMC) play, while the Lady Lions improve to 21-1 overall and 16-0 in league play.

Trailing by two at the 8:17 minute mark, the Cougars reeled off a 13-2 run to make the score 31-22, finally gaining some separation after a back and forth beginning. However the Lady Lions closed out the first half with a 17-2 run as they took the 39-33 advantage into the break. Columbia shot 48 percent from the field while holding the #1 team to a 46 percent clip. Corri Hamilton led the Cougars with 10 first half points.

The see-saw battle continued on into the second half as the Lions led 57-51 at the 10:45 mark. Freed-Hardeman went up by 11 with the help of a 7-2 run, but the Cougars hung around and cut the deficit to nine with 4:50 remaining in the game. Over the next minute and a half, the Lady Lions extended their lead to 16 after seven unanswered points, but Columbia rallied back to pull within nine at the 1:35 mark. However, Freed-Hardeman responded with a 10-0 run over the final minute to put the game away.

The Cougars finished the game at 48 percent (28 for 58) from the field, while FHU shot 49 percent. Aqua Corpening led four Columbia players in double figures with 14 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds, followed by Hamilton and Amber Percival with 12 apiece. Kei'yana Pearson added a season-high 11 points to round out the scoring for the Cougars. The Lady Lions ended the afternoon with a 41-31 advantage on the boards and forced Columbia to turn the ball over 15 times, converting the miscues into 21 points.

Columbia will look to rebound against Lindenwood University-Belleville at home on Thursday, February 5^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.