Box Score Walnut Ridge, Ark. – The 3^rd-ranked Columbia College women's basketball team fell to American Midwest Conference (AMC) foe Williams Baptist College by a score of 80-68 this afternoon at Becknell Gymnasium. With the loss the Cougars drop to 25-3 and 19-3 in conference play while the Eagles improve to 18-9 on the season and 13-9 in league play.

The Eagles came out firing, outscoring the Cougars 16-7 in the first frame and 24-18 in the second to take a 40-25 lead at halftime. The Cougars came out strong in the second half as they cut the Williams Baptist lead to 43-30, but the Eagles responded with a rally of their own to extend their lead to 20 at 50-30 with 7:14 left in the third quarter. Williams Baptist maintained a double-digit lead over the remainder of the third frame, outscoring the Cougars 13-9 to hold a 58-39 advantage.

Columbia tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter after using a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to single digits at 61-53 with just under six minutes remaining in the game. After the Eagles stretched their lead back out to double-digits, the Cougars eventually made it a seven point game on a bucket by Kei'yana Pearson at 67-60. That would be the closest the Cougars would come as the Eagles pushed their lead to 12, outscoring Columbia 13-8 over the remainder of the game to pull away with the 80-68 victory.

The Cougars finished shooting just 31 percent from the field while the Eagles shot 42 percent for the game and held a 58-34 advantage on the boards. Columbia also shot poorly from beyond the arc, hitting just 4-of-22 attempts to finished shooting 18 percent. The squad did shoot well from the free throw line after making 18-of-22 attempts and also took advantage of 30 Eagle turnovers to score 21 points.

Pearson led the Cougars with 17 points. Corri Hamilton and Ashlee Marlatt also finished in double-digit scoring with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Williams Baptist was led by Da'Monique Brown with 17 points while Alytrius Perry chipped in 16 points. Andrea Moffitt had 15 points and Michaela Thompson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cougars will look to get back on track when they host AMC opponent Park University on February 25^th. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Southwell Complex. Columbia seniors Petrolina Chilaka, Kei'yana Pearson, Caprese Marshall, Corri Hamilton and Brittany Yost will be honored prior to tip-off.