Nevada, Mo. – The Columbia College women's basketball team raced out to a 19-1 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to an 89-46 victory at Cottey College on Thursday in Nevada, Mo.
Lexi Rubel recorded the second double-double of the season with a career-high 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Lexi Miler (15 points),
Macie Harman (12) and
Ashtyn Klusmeyer (10) also scored in double figures for the Cougars.
Columbia improved to 13-1 and 4-0 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), while Cottey fell to 2-11 and 1-3 in the AMC.
The Cougars had a season low two turnovers, hit a season-best 13 three-pointers, and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the win. Defensively, Columbia had a 15-0 advantage in points off turnovers and outrebounded Cottey 40-23.
The Cougar defense stood tall in the opening 7:50, forcing 11 straight misses from the field and three turnovers as Columbia built a commanding 19-1 advantage. The Cougars held a 19-5 lead after one quarter behind six points and five rebounds from
Lexi Rubel.
Lexi Miller's four-point play ignited a 12-0 run as the lead ballooned to 33-9 with 5:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Columbia took a 39-15 lead into halftime, paced by eight points and nine rebounds from
Lexi Rubel. The Cougars limited the Comets to just 17.4 percent (4-of-23) shooting from the field and committed only one turnover in the opening half.
Back-to-back three-pointers by
Tori Rubel and Klusmeyer highlighted an 11–0 run to open the third quarter, pushing the advantage to 50-15. Columbia led 63-33 after three quarters.
The Cougars put together another double-digit run (13-0) to open the fourth quarter as the advantage grew to 76-33.
Gabrielle Burrus had a game-high 16 points for Cottey, who was 2-for-16 from three-point range in the loss.
The Cougars travel to Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday, January 10 at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Columbia is 8-0 all-time against Cottey … 11-of-13 players who saw the court scored for the Cougars … The 43 three-pointers attempted was the sixth most in school history … Columbia also had two turnovers on Feb. 22, 2024 at Harris-Stowe.
