Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the 20^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team took the court for the first time this season when they hosted Central Christian College of the Bible (Mo.) in the Cougars vs. Cancer Tip-Off Classic Presented by Cost Cutters. The Cougars looked to carry over their success from last season when they went 27-6 and earned a bid to the National Tournament. Columbia College was able to defeat the Saints by a final score of 100-35 to pick up their first win of the season.

The first half of the game was all Cougars as they jumped on the Saints from the opening whistle. They were able to score on their first possession of the game when Jordan Alford hit a three point shot just six seconds into the half to jumpstart the Cougars offense. Despite getting off to a quick start, Columbia College looked a little rusty as the first quarter progressed missing several open looks. However, the rust quickly wore off and they were able to use a 10-1 run at the end of the quarter to jump out to a 24-5 lead in the game.

The Cougars looked like they were in midseason form in the second quarter as they were moving the ball well on offense and swarming the Saints on defense. They limited the Saints to just five points in the quarter while forcing several turnovers. The Cougars held the Saints to just one field goal on six attempts in the quarter as they took a 48-10 lead into the halftime break. Columbia College went 18 for 45 in the half while going six for 22 from outside the three point line.

The second half was much of the same for the Cougars as they continued to dominate the Saints in the game. Central Christian College of the Bible started to get their offense going in the third quarter and carried that momentum into the fourth where they went 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from three point range. However, they got hot just a little too late as the Cougars had already built themselves a big lead in the game.

It was a great game for Columbia College offensively as every player on the team scored at least two points in the contest. Morgan Brandt led the way for the Cougars with a game high 18 points while going 7-13 from the field including 3-7 from three point range. Additionally, Mai Nienhueser had 16 points, Grey Hayes had 12 points, Jordan Alford put up 11 points and Raegan Wieser and Alexis Uffmann each had 10 points. Nikki Fuemmeler led the team in rebounding pulling in a game high 12 rebounds in the contest and Wieser brought down 11 herself as she finished the game with the only double-double.

The Cougars are back in action tomorrow night, November 5^th, when they take on Milligan (Tenn.) College in the final game of the Cougars vs. Cancer Tip-Off Classic presented by Cost Cutters. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m.