Walnut Ridge, Ark. – This afternoon the 16th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they traveled to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to take on Williams Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to bounce back from their loss to the second ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions on Thursday and improved to 7-5 on the season and 5-1 in conference play after defeating the Eagles by a final score of 92-63.
Columbia College came out in the first quarter of the game and took it to the Eagles early. They scored the first eight points of the contest and grew their lead to 24-4 near the end of the period. The Cougars played great defense in the quarter and forced Williams Baptist to take tough shots as they held them to just two field goals in the period.
Columbia College held a 24-8 advantage to start the second and picked up right where they left off in the first. Jordan Alford knocked down a quick three point shot to start the quarter and it jumpstarted a 10-4 run for the Cougars as they pushed their lead to 34-12 with seven minutes remaining in the half. The Eagles were able to pick it up as the quarter progressed and cut Columbia's lead to 23 midway through the period but another run from the Cougars propelled them to a 52-23 lead at the break. Alford led all scorers with 15 points in the half.
In the second half, both sides came out and exchanged baskets to start the third quarter. The Cougars had a tough time scoring the ball to start the period but picked it up down the stretch and grew their lead to 75-39 heading into the fourth. The Eagles did their best to get back into the game in the final quarter and were able to outscore Columbia 24-17 but the Cougars lead was too big to overcome and they cruised to their seventh win of the season.
Columbia College was led by Jordan Alford who finished with a career high 25 points and seven assists. To go along with Alford, Geena Stephens, Mai Nienhueser and Ashlee Marlatt all finished with 12 points each while Morgan Brandt finished with a team high seven rebounds to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
Columbia College is back in action on Thursday, December 28th when they play host to Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 5:30 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
