Columbia, Mo. – The Cougar women's basketball team posted another big victory tonight, defeating American Midwest Conference (AMC) member and 13^th ranked Freed-Hardeman University by a final score of 67-58 in Southwell Complex.  With the win, the 8^th ranked Cougars remain perfect on the season with a 15-0 record and move to 9-0 in conference play.  The Lions fall to 10-5 overall and 6-3 versus league foes.

The Cougars struggled out of the gate to get their offense running, falling behind early but they quickly regained their footing before the conclusion of the first quarter.  Five straight points by freshman Ashlee Marlatt gave Columbia their first lead of the night at 12-11.  That momentum is all the Cougars needed as they finished the first quarter up five on a 9-0 run and never trailed in the contest again. 

Columbia held the visiting Lions to just ten points over the next quarter of play while scoring 17 of their own.  The Cougars defense held Freed-Hardeman to just 25 percent shooting from the field in the first half while shooting 44 percent themselves.  Marlatt's 11 points led Columbia into the locker room with a 33-21 advantage. 

The Lions couldn't cut the deficit at all in the third quarter as the Cougars finished with an even larger advantage than they started with and continued to hold Freed-Hardeman to just 27 percent shooting from the field.  It was late in the contest when Freed-Hardeman put the pressure on the host squad pulling within nine points, but it was too little, too late as the Cougars walked away win the win.

Marlatt finished the contest with 19 points to lead Columbia.  Morgan Brandt and Corri Hamilton also chipped in double figures, posting 13 and 11 points, respectively. Kei'yana Pearson dished out a team high five assists and Brandt led all players with 11 rebounds.

Taleeah Cross and Kim Mallory teamed up for 40 of Freed-Hardeman's 58 points. 

The Cougars return to the court on Saturday, January 9^th when they host another AMC contest in Southwell Complex.  The Eagles of Williams Baptist College will take on Columbia in a 2:00 p.m. tilt.  

After Saturday, the Cougars have just two more contests to finish out the first half of the regular AMC season as they head to Park University and host William Woods next week.