Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the 12^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they hosted the ninth ranked Lyon (Ark.) College Scots in the AMC Game of the Week. The Cougars were able to avenge their loss from earlier this season against the Scots and battled hard in the game to edge out a 68-67 victory. With the win, the Cougars improve to 17-3 on the season and 11-3 in conference play.

Lyon College came out in the first quarter and were firing on all cylinders. They started the game on a 15-7 run and looked as if there was no sign of slowing down. However, the Cougars were able to bounce back quickly thanks to Sarah Walters who scored five straight points for Columbia to get the offense rolling. The game remained tight throughout the first half as neither side was able to break away from the other and the score was tied at 36 heading into the halftime break. The Cougars were led by Walters who had 12 points in the half.

In the second half, both sides played tough defense to start the third which made it difficult for either team to score. The Cougars were able to settle into their offense as the quarter progressed and worked the ball around looking for the holes in the Scots defense. They played tough defense and forced Lyon to take contested shots but the Scots were connecting from deep and were matching the Cougars point for point.

Columbia College took a 56-54 lead into the final period and were looking to close out the game and tie the season series against the Scots at one game apiece. They played with a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor and were able to upset the Scots rhythm on the offensive end. The Cougars shied away from the three point shot and worked the ball down low forcing Lyon to foul Columbia's shooters to prevent easy Layups. However, the Cougars were able to knock down their free throws and built a 10 point lead late in the game. The Scots did everything they could to get back into the game and went on a 9-0 run to cut the Cougars lead to one with just two minutes left to play. Lyon had plenty of opportunities to take the lead in the final minutes but Columbia stepped up their game on defense and did not allow the Scots to score another basket for the rest of the game as they were able to close out Lyon to pick up their fifth straight victory.

The Cougars were led by Sarah Walters who finished the game with a career high 20 points in the contest. In addition to Walters, Ashlee Marlatt and Raegan Wieser both finished with 11 points apiece to round out the top performers for Columbia.

The Cougars are back in action on Thursday, January 26^th when they travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to take on Harris Stowe State (Mo.) University in an AMC contest. The game is set to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.