Peru State breaks Lady Cougar streak, Oswald named AMC Player of the Week
Monday, January 25, 2010
Peru, Neb. – The Columbia Lady Cougars dropped their first contest of 2010 and just their second of the season tonight, falling to Peru State (Neb.) College in a non-conference contest 65-63 tonight. The loss breaks an 18-game win streak for the Lady Cougars, who move to 18-2 on the season. The Lady Bobcats of Peru State improve to 8-13 overall.
The Lady Cougars traded baskets with Peru State for the majority of the first half, until the Lady Bobcats made a run to take an 11-point lead right before the intermission. Columbia’s Amanda Phillips drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit, but the Lady Cougars did trail 34-26 at the intermission.
The second half saw the Lady Cougars come to life for a brief time, climbing back from a 13-point Peru State lead. Columbia took a two point advantage with just under four minutes remaining, but struggled to expand the lead after turning the ball over in back-to-back possessions.
With 24 seconds on the clock the Lady Cougars had a 63-62 lead and choose to foul Peru State, sending them to the line where they made both free-throw attempts. Columbia rushed to the other end of the court to get their final shot off, but when it fell short and Peru State pulled down the rebound the Lady Cougars fouled immediately. The Lady Bobcats made their first attempt, but when their second didn’t fall the Lady Cougars were left with just 0.6 of a second, which wasn’t enough to take the ball down the court as Columbia walked away with the two-point loss.
Veronica Smith and Rachel Oswald put in 13 points a piece, while Whitney Widaman finished with 12. Kirsti Wilkerson also finished in double figures with 10. Smith also led Columbia in rebounds with 12.
For her efforts last week, Lady Cougar Rachel Oswald has been named the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Player of the Week. This is the second such honor this month for Oswald. Rachel averaged 23 points and 7.5 rebounds in helping the No. 8-ranked Lady Cougars extend their win streak. Oswald made a phenomenal 73.1 percent (19-of-26) of her shots from the field, and was 8-of-11 from the free throw line. In addition, Oswald chipped in with five blocked shots, two assists and a steal. Oswald currently leads Columbia in scoring at 13.7 points per game, and is second in rebounding at 8.6 per contest. She is shooting an even 50 percent from the field in 2009-10.
In the latest NAIA Division I women’s basketball top 25 poll, the Lady Cougars are ranked No. 8 for the third straight week. Columbia pulled in 248 points in this week’s poll. Union (Tenn.) University remains in the top spot with a 20-1 record and 312 points. Union is followed by Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) University and Saint Xavier (Ill.) University who both held their spots from a week ago. Vanguard (Calif.) University and Oklahoma Baptist University are tied for the fourth spot with 11-2 and 17-2 records, respectively.
Columbia’s AMC foes McKendree (Ill.) University and William Woods (Mo.) University remain in the top 25 as well. McKendree dropped one spot to No. 16 this week, while the Owls from William Woods jumped from No. 21 to No. 19.
The Lady Cougars return to American Midwest Conference (AMC) action on Thursday, January 28th when they head to St. Louis, Mo. Columbia takes on Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University at 5:30 p.m.