Lady Cougars take down No. 19 ranked William Woods
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Columbia, Mo. - The Columbia Lady Cougar basketball team reached the halfway point in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) regular season schedule today, remaining undefeated with a 68-63 victory over the William Woods University Owls. With the win, Columbia also notched their 20th victory of the season, making this their seventh 20 win season in nine years. The Lady Cougars, ranked No. 8 in the NAIA, are 20-2 on the season and 8-0 in the AMC. The 19th ranked Owls fall to 18-2 overall and 6-2 versus conference foes.
The Lady Cougars and Owls went through three lead changes and seven ties in the first frame, with Columbia holding the largest lead (six) just six minutes into the contest. The teams were all knotted up at 31 at the break.
The second frame looked much like the first with Columbia and William Woods trading basket for basket. Columbia jumped out to a three point lead with five and a half minutes remaining on back-to-back fast break lay-ups by Rachel Oswald. The Owls immediately cut the lead to one, but Columbia answered 15 seconds later with a Veronica Smith jumper out of the corner. The Lady Cougars would add to their lead at the free-throw line and then again a minute later with Smith drained a three. The Owls attempted and made their shots down the stretch but were unable to stop the Lady Cougars at the other end, as Columbia took the five point victory.
Columbia’s 22 second chance points compared to the Owls’ four, was a clear difference maker in the contest. The Lady Cougars outrebounded William Woods, 50-26.
Oswald easily led all scorers with 27 points in the contest. Whitney Widaman also finished in double figures with 17 points, 14 of which came in the first half and nine from beyond the arc. Veronica Smith ended with her seventh double-double of the season, 13 points and 19 rebounds.
Columbia returns to action next Thursday, February 4th when they start the second half of the AMC regular season. The Lady Cougars host Williams Baptist (Ark.) College at 5:30 p.m. in the Arena of Southwell Complex.