Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar women's basketball team opened up postseason play with a 94-34 victory over Stephens College tonight in the first round of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) tournament. Columbia, the tournament's No. 5 seed, improves to 21-10 with their third win over the Stars this season.

Columbia used an 8-0 run to begin the first half as Ashley Fisher and Tierney Seifert hit back-to-back three pointers. The Cougars continued to control the half as they led 32-8 at the midway point and extended their lead to 54-17 at the halftime break. Columbia also dominated the half with a 28-16 rebounding advantage, while forcing 16 turnovers by the Stars. The Cougars shot 52 percent from the field while holding Stephens to 22 percent clip.

The Cougars began the second half on an 11-2 run to stretch their lead to 46 and led by as many as 62 on their way to victory.

Columbia shot 40 percent from the field in the second half to end the game shooting 46 percent. Four Cougars ended the night in double-digits, led by Corri Hamilton with 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Fisher posted a double-double as well with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Samantha Cavlovich and Brittany Yost rounded out the scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Aqua Corpening and Kei'yana Pearson handed out six assists apiece as the Cougars finished with 18 on the night.

The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday, March 4^th when they travel to No. 4 seed Lindenwood University-Belleville in the tournament quarterfinal round. Columbia went 1-1 against Lindenwood-Belleville during the regular season, including a 77-59 victory over the Lynx back on December 20^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Belleville, Ill.