Box Score Batesville, Ark. – This evening the 8th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back on the court when they traveled to Batesville, Arkansas to take on the 18th ranked Lyon College Scots in an AMC matchup. The Cougars outlasted the Scots by a final score of 78-73. Columbia improves to 23-5 on the season and 21-1 in conference play.
The Scots would take the early lead as the score was 11-4 after four minutes of play. The Cougars would get some quick buckets, including a big three from Sarah Walters off of a Lyon turnover, to cut the lead 11-15 with 3:20 remaining. Over the final minutes of the first quarter Columbia trailed close behind the Scots. A late three from Lyon would give them a 24-14 lead after the first.
The Cougars would start the second knocking down back to back shots from beyond the arc. Columbia used an 8-2 run over the first two minutes to cut the lead to four. Midway through the quarter the Cougars trailed 24-31. The game was a battle on both ends of the court as the next few minutes were scoreless. Each team playing at a quick pace, the Scots led 33-27 with two minutes before the break. A deep three from Jordan Alford, with 51 seconds left would cut the lead to three, however Lyon would quickly answer back with a bucket of their own. Columbia would again cut the lead to three with 19 seconds left as Morgan Brandt drove the lane. With the clock ticking down, Lyon was able to take a 39-34 lead at halftime.
The Cougars started the half with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 39 just a minute into the third quarter. Each team would go back and forth, tied again at 43, before Alford would hit a three to give the Cougars their first lead of the game 46-43 with 6:24 left in the third. On the next possession Alford would nail another one from beyond the arc, forcing the Scots to call a timeout as the Cougars were picking up some momentum. As the quarter progressed, Columbia would remain in the lead 55-48, while the Cougars held Lyon to just nine third quarter points.
Heading into the final quarter of play neither team was backing off. The fight continued as the Scots tied the game at 59 with just under six minutes to play. Lyon would take a two point lead, however Alford would quickly hit another three to give the Cougars a one point lead. The score would continue to go back and forth as time was winding down. Walters knocked down two free throws to give the Cougars a 66-65 lead with two and a half minutes to go. With 1:35 left, the Cougars were able to take a 69-66 lead. Mai Nienhueser hit a huge three with 1:05 on the clock to extend the lead 72-66. In the final 30 seconds of the game, Columbia went 6-6 from the charity stripe to outlast the Scots by a final score of 78-73 to secure their 17th straight victory.
Columbia put forth a great team effort tonight as five Cougars were in double digits including Jordan Alford (19), Sarah Walters (16), Mai Nienhueser (13), Morgan Brandt (11), and Ashlee Marlatt (10). In addition to leading all scorers, Alford went 5-8 from three and led all players in assists as she dished out six. Brandt pulled down seven rebounds, which moves her into sixth place all time at Columbia College with 668 career rebounds as she passes former Cougar Corri Hamilton. The Cougars shot 53 percent from the field, 44 percent from three, and an excellent 94 percent from the line.
Columbia College is back in action on Saturday, February 17th when they travel to Conway, Arkansas to take on the Central Baptist College Mustangs in an AMC matchup. The game is set to tip-off at 1:00 p.m.
