Cougars Box Out Eagles to Advance to AMC Championship Game

Columbia, Mo. – For the third year in a row, the Columbia College women’s basketball team has advanced to the American Midwest Conference championship game after dropping Williams Baptist University in the semifinals tonight. The win puts Columbia at 25-4 overall on the season, while the season ends for Williams Baptist at 19-11. 

The Cougars got the hot start in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 26-11 lead after the first ten minutes of play. Things slowed down in the second as the Eagles outscored Columbia by two, 10-12, to head into halftime trailing the Cougars 36-23.

The Columbia defensive effort proved to be too much for WBU as they were only able to put up five points in the third quarter while the Cougars scored 12. Heading into the fourth and final quarter, Columbia held a 20-point lead. 

Williams Baptist looked to make a run in the fourth quarter, but it was too late as Columbia secured the 64-42 win over the Eagles. 

Allison Stiers finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Mallory Shetley also had 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Abby Backes added 10 points and eight rebounds. DeLaney Horstman had a team-high 11 rebounds. 

As a team, Columbia had a season-high 68 rebounds, while WBU only managed 30. The Cougars got 23 points from their bench as well. 

Columbia will face Missouri Baptist in the AMC championship game on Monday night, inside Southwell Complex, at 5:30PM. The Cougars have claimed both games against the Spartans so far this season, but we can expect a battle on Monday as both teams are playing for a higher-seed in the NAIA National Tournament.