Belleville, Ill. – Tonight the 13^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team traveled to Belleville, Illinois, to take on 23^rd ranked Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.) in an AMC matchup. This was the seventh time these two sides have matched up in their programs history's but only the first time that both teams were ranked in the top 25. The Cougars were defeated by the Lynx by a final score of 68-63 and fell to 10-2 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.

The Cougars came out in the first quarter and were able to jump out in front of the Lynx early in the game. They went on an 11-4 run in the first six minutes of the half and only allowed Lindenwood-Belleville one field goal during that stretch. They continued to dominate as the quarter progressed and took a 17-8 lead into the second.

Columbia struggled offensively to start the second quarter as it took them a little over three minutes to find the basket. The Lynx were able to battle back during that stretch and cut the Cougars lead down to four. Columbia College answered by scoring seven straight points but an 11-0 run by Lindenwood-Belleville midway through the quarter gave the Lynx their first lead of the game with a little under three minutes remaining in the half. Both sides exchanged points in the last few minutes of the quarter but two late free throws by the Lynx gave them the 30-28 lead at the break. The Cougars were led by Jordan Alford who finished with seven points and five rebounds in the half.

The game remained close through the third quarter but the Lynx were able to go on a 6-2 run to end the period and took a 46-41 lead into the fourth. With the Cougars trailing by five, freshman standout Jordan Alford stepped up her game. She opened the final quarter by knocking down a deep three point shot that jumpstarted a 7-2 run for Columbia and tied the game at 48. Despite having the momentum down the stretch, the Cougars were unable to close out the Lynx. They struggled to bring down defensive rebounds and Lindenwood-Belleville capitalized in the closing minutes as they finished the game on a 10-2 run and handed the Cougars their first loss in seven games.

Columbia College was led by Jordan Alford who finished with a team high 18 points, including 11 in the fourth, and a career high nine rebounds. In addition to Alford, Sarah Walters finished with 14 points and Raegan Wieser, the AMC Player of the Week, dropped in 11 points to round out the top performers for Columbia.

The Cougars will take a break for the holiday and return to the court on Thursday, December 29^th when they host Stephens (Mo.) College in an AMC matchup. The game is set to tip-off at 5:30 p.m. at the Southwell Athletic Complex.