Columbia, Mo. – Lexi Miller scored a game-high 23 points and moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list as the Columbia College women's basketball team posted a 77-44 win over Cottey College on Thursday at the Arena of Southwell Complex.
 
Miller, who has 1,351 points in her four-year career, was 9-of-13 from the field and hit five threes in the victory. She moved past Ashlee Marlatt (2015-19) into second in program history with 253 three-pointers made.
 
Columbia won its 10th-straight contest to improve to 21-1 and 12-0 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), while Cottey suffered its second-straight defeat and dropped to 5-16 and 4-8 in the AMC.
 
The Cougars hit 13 threes in the win and had a 32-12 advantage in points in the paint and dominated second-chance points 26-3. Emma Daniels added 13 points off the bench, while Lauren Friedrich (11) and Mya Miller (10) also scored in double figures for the Cougars.
 
Lexi Miller scored eight of the Cougars' first 12 points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and adding a layup to give Columbia a 12-8 lead in the opening 4:06. 
 
The advantage grew to double digits at 18-8 following a three from Ashtyn Klusmeyer, and the Cougars closed the first quarter ahead 25-10. Columbia connected on five threes and dominated the paint, 10-0, in the opening period.
 
Daniels sparked an 8-0 run with five points to extend the lead to 39-18, and Columbia carried a 44-25 advantage into half. Lexi Miller led the way with 13 points, while Friedrich added eight. The Cougars knocked down eight threes and had a 16-0 edge in second-chance points.
 
Columbia opened the third quarter with the first eight points to extend the lead to 52-25. Cottey answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 52-32, but the Cougars closed the quarter on an 8-2 surge to take a commanding 62-37 advantage.
 
Ava Maner had 11 points to lead Cottey, who was limited to 31.6 percent (17-52) shooting from the field and had 17 turnovers in the loss.
 
The Cougars host Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday, February 7 at 1 p.m.
 
NOTES: Columbia has won nine all-time meetings between the two teams … The Cougars had 20 or more assists (22) for the ninth time this season … Head coach Matt Moore is one win shy of 50 in his career … Lexi Rubel had a game-high seven assists.