Columbia stays undefeated in conference play, defeats Park University
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Parkville, Mo. – The Columbia Cougars used an 11-point second half run to propel them over American Midwest Conference (AMC) foe Park University today in Parkville, Mo. The No. 10 ranked Lady Cougars defeated Park University 65-41 to stay undefeated in AMC play with a 10-0 record. The victory is Columbia’s fourth in a row as they improve to 22-2 on the season. The loss drops the Pirates to 3-20 overall and 2-9 versus conference opponents.
Columbia held the Pirates to 10 field goals in the first half, three of which came in the first four minutes. Park sent the Lady Cougars to the charity stripe 13 times in the first frame, while only appearing four times themselves. Columbia’s 10 points off of turnovers led to a 33-22 advantage at the break.
Uneven match-ups in the paint, led to a 40-24 scoring and 56-42 rebounding advantage for the Lady Cougars. Columbia outscored the host squad 32-19 in the second frame to lead to the 24-point victory.
Columbia finished the contest shooting 36 percent from the field, compared to the Pirates 29 percent performance.
Three Lady Cougars ended in double figures, led by Denise Rosario. Rosario posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and 17 points, going six-for-nine from the field. Veronica Smith chipped in 14 points and Janita Session finished with 10. Rachel Oswald led all rebounders with 13.
The Lady Cougars return to action on Thursday, Feb. 11th when they head to Lebanon, Ill. to take on the No. 16 ranked McKendree (Ill.) University Bearcats. The Bearcats are 18-5 on the season and 8-2 in the conference. In their first meeting on Jan. 14th, the Lady Cougars easily put away McKendree with a 83-59 victory.