Walnut Ridge, Ark. – Lexi and
Tori Rubel each recorded a double-double to help lead the Columbia College women's basketball team to a 78-63 win at Williams Baptist University on Saturday in Walnut Ridge, Ark.
Lexi Rubel had 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for her sixth double-double of the season, while
Tori Rubel tied a season-high with 12 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth career double-double.
Lauren Friedrich had a game-high 18 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting, while
Ashtyn Klusmeyer (13) and
Lexi Miller (13) and also scored in double figures. Columbia drained 11 threes in the win and had a 48-31 advantage on the glass.
Columbia won its eighth-straight game to improve to 19-1 and 10-0 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), while Williams Baptist had its 10-game win streak snapped and fell to 15-4 and 9-2 in the AMC. The Cougars improved to 11-0 on the road this season.
The Cougars missed their first four shots from the field and trailed 4-0 in the opening three minutes. Friedrich knocked down Columbia's lone three-pointer of the first quarter to cut the deficit to 8-7, but Williams Baptist held a 15-14 edge after 10 minutes of play. Columbia shot just 5-of-16 from the field in the opening quarter.
Lexi Rubel's jumper on the opening possession of the second quarter gave CC its first lead at 16-15, and Friedrich's layup capped a 14-0 run as Columbia pushed the advantage to 23-15 with 7:16 remaining before halftime. Friedrich then connected on back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to 34-27.
Columbia carried a 43-33 advantage into half behind 13 points from Friedrich and 12 from
Lexi Rubel. The Cougars' final five field goals of the quarter all came from beyond the arc.
Tori Rubel knocked down a pair of three-pointers and
Lexi Rubel added another from beyond the arc to open the third quarter as Columbia's lead grew to 52-33. The Cougars carried a 64-48 advantage into the final frame.
Williams Baptist opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to 64-56, but Columbia answered with 10 straight points to restore a double-digit cushion at 74-56.
Joi Montgomery (15), Chelsea Hamilton (12), Sara Crowe (11) and Cha'Myrean Ellis (11) scored in double figures for Williams Baptist, which shot 36.2 percent in the loss.
The Cougars host Hannibal-LaGrange University on Tuesday, February 3 at 5:30 p.m.
NOTES: Columbia has won three-straight games against Williams Baptist and lead the all-time series 53-4 … The Cougars are 23-1 in true road games the last two seasons … Columbia has hit 10 or more threes in 12 games.
