Columbia, Mo. – The Cougar Women's basketball team returned to action tonight, earning an 81-70 home victory over Georgetown College. With the win, Columbia improves to 3-0 overall.

The Cougars struggled offensively in the first quarter as they shot 25 percent and trailed 17-16 after ten minutes of play.

The second quarter remained close to begin, but Columbia picked up momentum midway through as they used a 15-4 run to extend their advantage to 37-27 heading into the halftime break.

Petrolina Chilaka racked up 14 points in the half while Ashlee Marlatt finished with 11 points after draining three of four shots from behind the arc. The Cougars also took advantage of 13 personal fouls committed by the Tigers to score 11 points in the half.

Columbia outscored the Tigers in the third quarter 20-19 while also maintaining a sizable advantage as they led 57-46 with 30 minutes erased from the game.

Georgetown didn't back down from there as the Tigers scored five straight points to pull within five at 60-55. A three by Kei'yana Pearson extended the Cougar lead back out to eight, but Lydia Graves from Georgetown responded with a three of her own to make the score 63-58. Columbia used 10-2 run to extend their lead back out and never looked back from there as they captured the 81-70 win over the Tigers.

Columbia finished the night shooting 41 percent from the field compared to 40 percent by Georgetown. The Cougars also ended the night with a 45-35 advantage on the boards. Chilaka finished with a season high 23 points to lead all players while also pulling down five rebounds. Marlatt chipped in a season high 21 points while Corri Hamilton finished in double-digits as well with 12. Hamilton also led the game with nine rebounds and Chilaka and Pearson led the Cougars with three assists apiece.

The Cougars hit the road for their next game on Monday, November 16^th to take on non-conference opponent Central Methodist University. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Fayette, Mo.