Lady Cougars give Dillard first loss of the season
Thursday, December 03, 2009
New Orleans, La. – The Columbia Lady Cougars extended their win streak to eight games tonight, defeating Dillard (La.) University on the road by a final score of 73-59. The Lady Cougars, ranked No. 14 in the NAIA preseason top 25 poll, improve to 8-1 on the season. Tonight’s loss was the first of the season for the Bleu Devils, moving them to 6-1 overall.
Columbia jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the early minutes of the contest before extending the lead to 13 midway through the first half. The Lady Cougars led by as many as 15 in the first frame, but allowed Dillard to make a 10-0 run to close out the half. Columbia did however hold a 38-32 advantage heading into the half.
The Lady Cougars continued their defensive pressure in the second half and were able to outscore the Bleu Devils 35-27 to take the 14-point win. Columbia shot 44 percent from the field for the contest but allowed Dillard to stay close by turning the ball over 24 times in the contest.
Denise Rosario led all scorers in the game with 15 points. Whitney Widaman had 14 for the Lady Cougars while Rachel Oswald logged 12 points. Veronica Smith and Kirsti Wilkerson also ended in double figures for Columbia with 11 and 10, respectively.
The Lady Cougars remain in New Orleans to take on No. 21 ranked Loyola (La.) University on Saturday, December 5th. Loyola is ranked 21st in the preseason ranking and the WolfPack are 3-1 on the season with their only loss coming to No. 1 ranked Union University, just like the Lady Cougars. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.