Cougars Down Cottey in AMC Quarterfinal

Columbia, Mo. – Mallory Shetley scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead the No. 1 seed Columbia College women’s basketball team to an 84-48 win over No. 8 seed Cottey College in the quarterfinals of the 2023 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Friday at The Arena of Southwell Complex.
 
Columbia won its 12th-straight game to improve to 24-4, while Cottey had its season come to an end with an 11-18 mark.
 
The Cougars host No. 4 seed Williams Baptist University on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. in the AMC semifinal. The Eagles defeated No. 5 seed Stephens College 64-58 in the quarterfinals.
 
Peyton Crowe and Mackenzie Hess added 11 points each, while Allison Stiers chipped in with nine. Columbia shot 52.5 percent (32-61) from the field and hit nine threes. The Cougars also outrebounded Cottey 39-24 and had a 32-16 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Columbia started quickly behind a pair of threes from Stiers that put the Cougars up 10-2 in the opening three minutes of play. A 6-0 run pushed the advantage to double figures at 16-5. Columbia led 18-9 after a quarter, limiting the Comets to 30.8 percent (4-13) from the field.
 
Hess recorded a four-point play with 7:37 to play before half to push the lead to 27-13, and then a three from Abby Backes doubled up the score at 30-15.
 
Columbia took a 42-27 lead to half behind eight points from Shetley. The Cougars limited the Comets to seven field goals (7-22) in the first half, but Cottey stayed in the game by hitting 10-of-12 free-throws. Columbia shot 48.1 percent (15-31) from the field. 
 
Shetley scored the first six points of the third quarter to extend the Cougar lead to 48-27,  but Cottey responded with six-straight to cut the lead to 50-34. A three-pointer and a driving lay-up by Lexi Miller got the lead back over 20 at 57-36. Columbia shot 50.0 percent (8-16) in the quarter and led 62-42.
 
Hess recorded her second four-point play of the game to give the Cougars a commanding 68-42 lead with 8:04 to play.
 
Sarah Hunt (12 points) and Claudia Hadlock (11) scored in double figures for Cottey, who shot 35.8 percent (17-48) from the field in the loss. 
 
NOTES: Columbia has won three all-time meetings against Cottey … The Cougars are 16-1 at home this season … Columbia has won 24 or more games 17 times in school history … Shetley has scored in double figures in seven-straight games and 19 for the season.