Box Score Jackson, Tenn. – This afternoon the 16th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they took on the fourth ranked Vanguard (Calif.) University Lions in their final game of the 2017 Jackson Rotary Invitational. The Cougars were defeated by the Lions by a final score of 52-50 and fall to 4-3 on the season.
In the first half of the game, both sides came out and had a tough time scoring the ball early as they combined for just seven points in the first five minutes of the contest. The Lions were able to pick it up as the first quarter progressed and went on a 10-4 run to end the period to give them a 12-9 lead heading into the second.
Columbia College continued to struggle shooting the ball at the start of the second as they scored just one basket for the first four minutes of the period. However, their shots started to fall as the game approached halftime and the Cougars were able to use a 13-0 run to close out the half to take a 24-19 lead into the locker room. Mai Nienhueser led the way for Columbia College as she had a game high eight points at the break.
Vanguard battled back in the third quarter and were able to cut Columbia's lead to one heading into the fourth. Despite the Lions having the momentum heading into the fourth, the Cougars were able to pick up two quick three pointer from Sarah Walters to start the final period and extend their lead to seven. The Lions responded to the Columbia's run with a 10-0 run of their own to take a late three point lead in the contest but the Cougars remained resilient as they regained the lead with a minute and a half left to play. However, the Lions were able to take the lead back with 30 seconds remaining and hit their free throws down the stretch to hand Columbia their second straight loss.
Ashlee Marlatt led the way for the Cougars as she finished with a team high 15 points in the contest. In addition to Marlatt, Sarah Walters added 14 points and Mai Nienhueser pulled down a game high 10 rebounds to round out the top performers for Columbia.
Columbia College is back on the court on Thursday, November 30th when they play host to Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.) in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 5:30 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
