Box Score Fulton, Mo. – The fourth ranked Columbia College women's basketball team traveled to Fulton, Missouri tonight as they faced the William Woods University Owls in an AMC matchup. Columbia fell to the Owls 74-65 in overtime. The Cougars move to 7-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play.
It took a couple possessions before anyone was able to break the scoreboard. Columbia would grab the first bucket of the game at the 7:22 mark of the first. As Ashlee Marlatt hit her 209th career three-pointer to tie third place all-time at Columbia College, the Cougars took a 7-6 lead and would take a quick timeout with 3:34 left in the first quarter. After a low scoring quarter, the game was knotted at 9 going into the second. With the second underway, each team was still struggling to put the ball in the hoop, as it was just 11-11 with just over six left before half. As the second progressed, the game remained tight, as Columbia trailed 19-17 with under three to play. A precision pass from Hannah Sutton hit Mai Nienhueser on a roll to the basket to tie the game 19-19, but the Owls quickly took back the lead on the other end. The Owls were able to complete a three point play in the final seconds, as the Cougars trailed 25-21 at halftime. Nienhueser led all scorers at the half with 14.
Two minutes into the third, the score was 32-28 Owls, while Columbia would take a timeout. Following the timeout, the Cougars went on a 6-0 run to take the lead 34-32. Neither team could pull away as the third continued, it was tied at 42 with 1:12 on the clock as the Owls called a timeout. Heading into the final quarter, Columbia held the two point advantage 44-42. There was just under seven minutes left in the game as the Cougars had a six point lead. The Owls were not going away just yet, however as they cut the lead in half trailing 49-46 and called a timeout. A big and-one play from Raegan Wieser with less than four to play put the Cougars up 52-46. William Woods wanted another timeout with three minutes remaining, while Columbia led by five. On the defensive end, Wieser took a big charge to get the ball back in Cougar hands. With 1:07 left, Wieser would pocket her second charge as Columbia led 54-51, but with a three point conversion from the Owls, the game would be tied at 54 with 21.4 seconds left and a Cougar timeout called as they looked to draw up a final play. William Woods would regain possession of the ball with 1.7 seconds and call a timeout of their own. The Owls were unable to convert in the final second, as the game was headed for overtime.
The teams continued to battle in overtime as the Owls led 61-59 with 2:29 to go. The Owls went on a quick run taking a 67-59 lead with 56 seconds remaining. The Cougars were forced to foul in the final minute and were unable to overcome the Owls late push as they fell 74-65.
Mai Nienhueser recorded her second straight double-double with a career high 25 points along with 10 rebounds. Morgan Brandt had 14 rebounds which advances her into third place all-time on the career-rebounds list with 783, as well as dishing out five assists. In addition, Raegan Wieser added 10 points of her own.
The women's basketball team will travel to Belleville, Illinois on Saturday, December 1st to take on the Lindenwood University-Belleville Lynx in an AMC contest. The game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m.
