Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the 13^th ranked Columbia College women's basketball team was back in action when they took on 12^th ranked Baker (Kan.) University in a non-conference matchup. Last season, the Wildcats ended the Cougars season in the first round of the national tournament by a final score of 80-71 and got all the way to the championship game before losing to conference foe MidAmerica Nazerene (Kan.). Columbia College was able to avenge their loss from last season and defeated Baker by a final score of 69-65. With the win tonight, the Cougars improved to 6-0 in non-conference play and have won their last eight straight games against ranked non-conference opponents dating back to the 2014-2015 season.

The Cougars got off to a quick start in the first quarter offensively as they were able to knock down a three point shot to start the game. Ashlee Marlatt made the shot for Columbia off of a nice feed from Morgan Brandt to jumpstart an 8-0 run for the Cougars. The Wildcats battled back in the quarter and answered with a 5-2 run of their own, but Columbia College continued to play well on both sides of the ball and took a 24-14 lead into the second quarter. The Cougars played swarming defense in the opening quarter and forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over seven times.

Columbia College came out in the second quarter and had trouble scoring to open the period. However, their defense remained strong throughout and only allowed one basket in the first three minutes of the quarter while forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over four more times. The Cougars were able to get back on track as the half progressed and went on a 10-4 run midway through the quarter thanks to two three point shots from sophomore Raegan Wieser. Following the second three pointer from Wieser, Baker answered 16-2 run and tied the game at 34 heading into the halftime break. Wieser was the leading scorer for Columbia in the first half finishing with 13 points including 11 in the second quarter.

The second half started as a defensive battle as neither side was able to get their offenses going. Both teams exchanged points as the quarter progressed but with a little over two minutes remaining in the period, Sarah Walters knocked down a huge three point shot to take a 47-45 lead into the final period.

The Cougars got off to a quick start in the fourth scoring four straight points to take a six point lead. However, Baker did not let them get to far ahead and answered with a three point shot after a turnover by Jordan Alford. Both sides battled down the stretch of the final quarter but it seemed as if every time the Wildcats would start to gain any momentum Columbia College would answer with a big play. The Cougars held a five point lead with 19 seconds remaining in the game but the Wildcats hit another big three pointer with nine seconds remaining to cut the lead down to two. They immediately fouled Alexis Uffmann on the inbound to send her to the line with four seconds left in the game. The sophomore guard calmly stepped up to the line and knocked down both of her foul shots to solidify the victory. With the win, the Cougars improve to 9-1 on the season.

Four Cougars finished in double figures tonight including Raegan Wieser and Ashlee Marlatt who each had 17 points in the game. Additionally, Jordan Alford finished with 12 points and Sarah Walters finished with a career high 13 points.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, December 10^th when they host Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University in an AMC matchup. The Trojans are currently 2-7 on the year and 2-2 in conference play. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. followed by the men's game at 3 p.m. in the Southwell Complex.