Indianapolis, Ind. – Lexi Miller and Lexi Rubel each scored 20 points to lead the No. 8 seed Columbia College women's basketball team to a 76-63 win over No. 9 seed Carroll College (Montana) Friday in the opening round of the 2026 NAIA National Tournament in Indianapolis.
Columbia won its 20th-straight game to improve to 31-1, while Carroll had its season come to an end with a 19-11 record. The 31 wins for Columbia are tied for most in a single season in school history.
Columbia takes on No. 1 seed and No. 4-ranked Marian University (30-2) on Saturday at 6 p.m. (ET) in the NAIA Second Round. The Knights defeated Haskell Indian Nations University 96-67 in the first game on Friday.
Ashtyn Klusmeyer had 17 points, Mya Miller added nine, and Tori Rubel chipped in with seven points and 10 rebounds for Columbia. The Cougars shot 47.5 percent (29-61) from the field and dominated points in the paint 38-20.
Columbia scored the first seven points of the contest, and a bucket by Lexi Rubel with 6:40 let in the first quarter made it 9-3. Carroll answered with a 13-0 run as CC did not score for almost six minutes and committed six turnovers and trailed 22-14 after the first quarter. Emma Daniels canned a three-pointer with one second left to trim the lead to single digits.
Lexi Miller canned three-straight threes to tie the game at 27-27 with 6:11 to play in the first half, and then Klusmeyer canned a triple and Miller followed with her fourth three of the quarter to make it 33-27. The Cougars hit six shots in a row during the 16-2 run.
Klusmeyer's three-point play with one-second left gave Columbia the 41-32 lead at half.
Lexi Miller had 12 points on four three-pointers to lead the Cougars, while Klusmeyer added 11 points. Columbia shot 51.6 percent (16-31) from the field in the first half, and hit 7-of-14 from three-point range.
Back-to-back threes from Lexi Miller and Tori Rubel extended the Cougars' lead to double figures at 47-35, and took a 61-43 advantage to the final quarter. Columbia limited Carroll to 3-of-13 shooting in the third quarter and outscored the Saints 20-11.
Klusmeyer's lay-up with 7:50 to play pushed the Columbia lead to 65-45 with 7:50 to play.
Meagan Karstetter (20 points), Willa Albrecht (19 points, eight rebounds) and Kenzie Allen (12 points) scored in double figures for Carroll, which shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the field in the loss and had 14 turnovers.
NOTES: Columbia has won both all-time meetings between the two teams … Lexi Miller became the eighth player in program history to score 1,500 or more points … The Cougars picked up their fifth NAIA National Tournament win in program history … Columbia is 19-0 away from home this season … The 20 points for Lexi Rubel were a career high.
