Canton, Mo. – Lauren Friedrich's three-pointer with eight seconds remaining lifted the Columbia College women's basketball team to a 58-53 come-from-behind win at Culver-Stockton College on Thursday in Canton, Mo.
 
Columbia dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Culver-Stockton 18-7. The Cougars limited the host Wildcats to 2-of-14 shooting in the final 10 minutes.
 
The Cougars stayed perfect at 10-0, while Culver-Stockton dropped to 5-6.
 
Lexi Miller led the Cougars with 16 points, while Ashtyn Klusmeyer (15 points, six rebounds, four steals) and Friedrich (11 points, five points, three blocks) also scored in double figures. Lexi Rubel flirted with a triple double with nine points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
 
Columbia spent the entire first quarter playing from behind and trailed 21-14 after 10 minutes of play. The Cougars shot 40 percent from the floor (6-of-15), but their defense couldn't contain the perimeter, giving up four three-pointers.
 
A pair of early baskets from Lexi Rubel and Miller cut Columbia's deficit to three (21-18) with 8:34 left in the second quarter, but the Cougars couldn't pull any closer the rest of the half and trailed 34-26 at the break.
 
Klusmeyer had a team-high eight points for the Cougars who shot just 34.5 percent (10-for-29) from the field and turned the ball over seven times in the opening half.
 
Miller's wing three-pointer cut the deficit to 37-33, and Tori Rubel followed with a three from the top of the key to make it 39-36 with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter. Culver-Stockton maintained a 46-40 advantage heading into the fourth.
 
Columbia's defense held Culver-Stockton scoreless for the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter, and a jumper by Lexi Rubel left tied the score at 46-46. Lexi Rubel scored six-straight points in a span of 1:36.
 
Klusmeyer canned a wing three-pointer with 47 seconds to give the Cougars a 53-51 lead but Misora Nambara pulled up from 15 feet for a jumper to tie the score at 53-53 with 31 seconds left.
 
Avery Oetting scored a game-high 18 points for Culver-Stockton, who shot 32.8 percent (19-58) from the field in the loss.
 
The Cougars close out their three-game road trip at William Woods University on Monday, December 15 at 5 p.m.
 
NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series 5-0 … The Cougars had a 41-33 rebounding advantage and recorded six blocks and 10 steals.