Columbia, Mo. – This evening the fourth ranked Columbia College women's basketball team stepped onto Bob Burchard Court as they hosted the Stephens College Stars in an AMC contest. Columbia cruised to a 108-45 victory. The Cougars are now 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
The Cougars took a quick start leading 12-3, as the Stars called for their first timeout a few minutes in. Columbia's defense was able to force some early Stephens turnovers. As the first quarter progressed, the Stars made a little run as the score was 17-11 Cougars. Out of a Columbia timeout, Sarah Walters would find Grey Hayes with a skip pass, as Hayes hit for three. Six straight points from Ukari McKinney gave the Cougars a 10 point lead at the end of the first, 26-16. Columbia continued to push the pace in the second quarter as the score was quickly 41-18. The Cougars were not having any trouble finding the hoop as Hayes, Hannah Sutton, and Walters nailed back to back to back from beyond the arc. With three minutes before the half, the Stars called timeout trailing 52-18. Heading into the locker room Columbia led 60-22. The Cougars shot 59 percent from the field, 57 percent from three, and 78 percent from the line, while also snagging nine steals on 12 Star turnovers. In addition, they were sharing the ball well as they had 12 assists in the half.
Columbia started off the third quarter with great defensive hustle. The Cougars continued to cause havoc on the defensive end as the quarter progressed. Heading into the final quarter, Columbia held all control as the score was 84-34. Abigayle Feeney found freshman Bria Jones who knocked it down from three to score her first points as a Cougar, also making the score 91-36. After almost three minutes of scoreless basketball on the Columbia end, Jones broke the silence adding five more points to the Cougars side. In the final minutes, Columbia continued to work on defense and move the ball on offense. The Cougars rolled onto a 108-45 victory, in which they had 26 assists and 22 steals.
Columbia played a well-rounded game as there were six Cougars in double digits including Geena Stephens (16), Ukari McKinney (14), Bria Jones (13), Ashlee Marlatt (12) Morgan Brandt (10), and Grey Hayes (10). Brandt pulled down eight rebounds, while Skyler Beeson, Hannah Sutton, and Stephens all grabbed six each. Alexis Uffmann dished out a game high six assists on the night.
The women's basketball team will return to Southwell Complex on Saturday, November 17th when they host the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics in an AMC matchup. The game will tip-off at 1 p.m.
