Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the 12^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they hosted Central Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC contest. This is the second time these two teams have matched up this season with the Cougars taking the first game by a final score of 86-46 to open up conference play. In tonight's game, Columbia College was able to improve to 16-3 on the season and 10-3 in conference play as they defeated the Mustangs by a final score of 95-58.

The Cougars came out in the first quarter and had a tough time scoring the ball as they started the game going just 3-8 from the field including 0-3 from behind the arc. The Mustangs forced them to turn the ball over three times in the first five minutes of the contest and were able to jump out to an early 10-7 lead in the game. Columbia College continued to struggle as the quarter progressed and were unable to find the holes in the Mustangs defense as they found themselves trailing 16-13 heading into second quarter.

Columbia College was finally able to get their offense going at the start of the second as Hannah Sutton and Ashlee Marlatt knocked down back-to-back three's to jumpstart a 12-2 run. They played tough defense and were able to force the Mustangs to turn the ball over several times as they outscored Central Baptist 27-13 in the second period to take a 40-29 lead into the halftime break. The Cougars were led by Marlatt who knocked down four three pointers in the second quarter for a game high 12 points in the half.

The Cougars picked up right where they left off in the first half and started the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 17 point lead in the game. Despite having trouble taking care of the ball, the Cougars did a great job of finding the open shooters on the offensive end and locked the Mustangs down on the defensive end as they held Central Baptist to just 11 points in the period.

Central Baptist did their best to get back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter and went on a 4-0 to cut the Cougars lead down to 23. However, that was as close as they would get as Columbia College was able to close out the Mustangs down the stretch and extend their winning streak to four straight games.

Columbia College had four players finish in double figures including Grey Hayes who led the team with a career high 27 points while tying a Cougar record with eight shots from behind the arc. In addition to Hayes, Ashlee Marlatt finished with 15 points, Raegan Wieser added 11 points, and Morgan Brandt dropped in 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds as the sophomore guard racked up her fourth double-double of the season.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, January 21^st when they play host to ninth ranked Lyon (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. Columbia College will look to avenge their loss to the Scots earlier this season when the Cougars were defeated 70-56 in Batesville, Arkansas. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.