Lady Cougars dominate No. 14 McKendree
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Columbia, Mo. – The Lady Cougars had no trouble putting away American Midwest Conference rival McKendree (Ill.) University tonight, defeating the Bearcats 83-59. Columbia, ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA top 25 Poll, improve to 15-1 overall and take over the top spot in the AMC with a 3-0 record. McKendree, ranked No. 14 this week, drops to 12-4 on the season and 2-1 against league foes.
Columbia jumped out to a quick lead in the first frame, taking an eight-point lead in the opening minutes. The Bearcats fought to stay with the Lady Cougars, tying up the contest a handful of times midway through the half before Columbia took control for good. The Lady Cougars took a 41-30 advantage at the break on 53 percent shooting.
The second half of action saw the Lady Cougars run away with the game, starting with a 10-2 run that put the Bearcats in a hole they couldn’t claw out of. Columbia forced McKendree into 17 turnovers in the contest, converting into 20 Lady Cougar points. Columbia’s bench once again made to make a huge impact, outscoring McKendree’s bench 28-8.
The Lady Cougars dished out 17 assists and blocked eight Bearcat shots.
Rachel Oswald posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the contest. Veronica Smith chipped in 19 points and Whitney Widaman finished with 14, 10 of which came in the first half. Denise Rosario was one rebound shy of her own double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Whitney Davis passed out seven assists.
The Lady Cougars return to the court on Saturday, January 16th when they make the short trip across town to Stephens (Mo.) College for another AMC contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.