Lady Cougars upset No. 6 Freed-Hardeman
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College Lady Cougars sent the Lady Lions of Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University home tonight with their first loss of the season. Columbia defeated the No. 6 ranked Lady Lions by a convincing score of 85-60. The Lady Cougars, ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll, improve to 5-1 on the season with their only loss coming to No. 1 raked Union (Tenn.) University. Freed-Hardeman makes the trip back to Tennessee with a 7-1 record.
The only lead changes and ties in this contest happened within the first two and a half minutes. The Lady Lions got on the board first with a jumper that was matched less than a minute later by the Lady Cougars. Freed-Hardeman went up again by two, but Whitney Widaman knotted up the score and from then on it was all Lady Cougars. Columbia capitalized on 19 first half turnovers by the Lady Lions, converting those miscues into 11 points. The Lady Cougars held a 34-28 advantage at the break.
Columbia didn’t waste any time in the second half, turning their six-point half time advantage into a 13 point difference in the first two minutes of the second frame. The Lady Cougars shut Freed-Hardeman down in the second half, allowing them only four field goals. The Lady Lions stayed in the game with their 92 percent free-throw shooting in the second half, going 23-for-25. In fact, free-throw percentage was the only statistic the visiting squad held over the Lady Cougars.
Columbia outscored the Lady Lions 51-32 in the second half to walk away with the 25-point win.
The Lady Cougars outrebounded Freed-Hardeman 38-33 and forced them into 28 turnovers by the end of the contest.
All five of Columbia’s starters ended the game in double figures tonight. Veronica Smith and Rachel Oswald both ended with double-doubles. Smith had a game high 25 points and 12 rebounds. Oswald ended with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Whitney Davis pitched in 11 points while Janita Session and Widaman finished with 10 a piece.
Columbia returns to the hardwood on Saturday, November 28th when they head to Batesville, Ark. to take on Lyon (Ark.) College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.