Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the 12^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they hosted the top ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were defeated by the Lions by a final score of 76-64 and fell to 22-5 on the season and 16-5 in conference play.

The Cougars got off to a quick start in the game knocking down their first two shots of the contest to break out to an early 4-0 lead. They applied a heavy amount of pressure to the Lions on the defensive end and forced them to turn the ball over four times in the quarter. However, the Cougars had a tough time finding the basket as the quarter progressed and the Lions were able to take a 21-11 lead into the second.

Columbia College picked up the tempo on the offensive end to start the second quarter and went on an 8-4 run to cut the Lions lead down to six with seven minutes remaining in the period. The Cougars continued to battle in the quarter but Freed-Hardeman seemed to be one step ahead of Columbia and held a 36-31 lead at the halftime break. The Cougars were led by Alexis Uffmann who had nine points in the half including seven straight points late in the second quarter.

Columbia College came out in the third and went on an 8-2 run to take a 39-38 lead midway through the quarter. However, the Lions would not let the Cougars take advantage of the momentum swing and responded to the run with a 12-4 run of their own to regain the lead late in the period. The Cougars did their best to close the gap in the final minute of the quarter and were able to score five straight points to cut the Lions lead to 53-48 heading into the final quarter.

The Cougars started the fourth quarter knocking down their first shot of the period to cut the Lions lead down to two with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. Both sides battled back and forth over the next few minutes but ultimately the Lions were able to close out Columbia College late in the game and clinched the AMC regular season title.

The Cougars were led by Morgan Brandt who finished with a team high 15 points in the contest. In addition to Brandt, Alexis Uffmann finished with a career high 13 points, Ashlee Marlatt added 12 points and Raegan Wieser had 10 points to round out the top performers for Columbia.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, February 18^th when they host Williams Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. Columbia College defeated the Eagles earlier this season by a final score of 54-49 in a game that Raegan Wieser finished with a team high 14 points and 10 rebounds. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.