Cougars Cruise into AMC Semis Behind 16 Threes

Columbia, Mo. – The No. 1 seed Columbia College women’s basketball team set an American Midwest Conference Tournament record with 16 threes in a 90-45 win over No. 8 seed Central Baptist College in the quarterfinals of the 2024 American Midwest Conference Tournament Friday at the Arena of Southwell Complex.
 
Columbia shot a season-high 51.6 percent from the field, and tied a season-best with the 16 threes. The Cougars also set an AMC record with most points in a third quarter (32).
 
Columbia won its seventh-straight game to improve to 25-4, while Central Baptist had a two-game win streak snapped and ended its season with a 7-18 mark. The Cougars host the winner of No. 4 seed Health Sciences & Pharmacy and No. 5 seed Missouri Baptist in the AMC semifinals on Saturday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
 
Mackenzie Hess tied a season-high with 18 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting, while Lexi Miller (16), Mya Miller (10) and Mallory Shetley (10) scored in double figures. DeLaney Horstman added eight points and six rebounds and set the Columbia single-season rebounding record with 321.
 
Columbia outscored Central Baptist 44-6 in bench points and had 23 assists on 32 field goals. Abby Backes led the Cougars with seven assists while Sydney Reddin added five.
 
Columbia opened the game scoring the first eight points, and took a double-digit (15-5) lead with 5:00 left in the first on a three by Lexi Miller. The Cougars broke the game open with a 10-0 run to extend the advantage to 25-8. 
 
The Cougars led 28-12 after one quarter, shooting 73.3 percent (11-15) from the field and hit 5-of-6 from three-point range. Horstman and Lexi Miller had eight points each.
 
Columbia blew the game open with a 12-0 run to make it 44-16 with 2:39 to play before half. Lexi Miller and Madison Weydert connected on threes during the run.
 
The Cougar shot 56.3 percent (18-32) from the field in the opening half and led 48-22. Lexi Miller had 13 points to lead the Cougars.
 
Hess connected on four-straight three-pointers to start the third quarter to extend the lead to 60-22. The Cougars outscored Central Baptist 32-13 in the frame.
 
Olivia Lambrigtsen (14 points) and Rhys Anderson (12) scored in double figures for Central Baptist, who shot 27.3 percent (18-66) from the field in the loss.
 
NOTES: Columbia has won 13-straight meetings against Central Baptist and leads the all-time series 20-1 … The Cougars are 15-0 at home this season … Columbia has won 25 or more games for the third-straight season and 17th time in school history … The Cougars recorded 20 or more assists for the sixth time this season … Hess’ six threes were second most all-time in an AMC Tournament game.