Lady Eagles Fall Victim to Fourth Quarter Comeback Against Columbia
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Williams Baptist (AR) (5-3, 1-1) | 16 | 12 | 19 | 12 | 59 |
|
Columbia (MO) (8-0, 1-0) | 17 | 5 | 16 | 23 | 61 |
COLUMBIA, Mo. (12/3/25) – The Williams Baptist University women's basketball team fell to Columbia on the road in the final minutes by the final score of 61-59 on Wednesday night.
Cha'Myrean Ellis led the scoring charge with 19 points. Ellis also led on the glass with eight rebounds. Chelsea Hamilton followed up with 14 points on 5-of-10 from the field, and Joi Montgomery piled on 12 points.
As a team Williams went 24-of-64 (37.5 percent) from the field. Both teams struggled from three-point range, going a combined 6-of-26 (23.1 percent). Columbia won the rebound battle 43-35, but WBU led with 16 points on 14 Cougar turnovers.
Both teams traded baskets in the first quarter. Columbia jumped out to a 7-3 lead early, but a 10-4 swing gave the Eagles an early 14-11 lead. A Cougar layup gave CC a 17-16 lead at the end of the first.
The Lady Eagles dominated the second period defensively, holding the Cougars to five points on 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) shooting. A Hamilton layup kicked off a 12 point run to start the quarter to give WBU a 28-17 lead. Columbia did not score until 2:28 left in the first half, and the Eagles took a 28-22 advantage into halftime.
Hamilton started the third quarter with a three-pointer to give WBU a 31-22 advantage. A triple from CC cut the lead to eight, but a jumper from Sara Crowe put the lead back at 47-35 with 42 seconds to play.
The Cougars finally turned on the offense in the fourth, out-scoring the Lady Eagles 23-12 in the final 10 minutes. A jumper tied the game at 51-51 with five minutes left. Cortayza Flowers gave Williams the lead back with a jumper 15 seconds later, but the Cougars responded with an 8-2 run to go up 59-55.
A late technical foul gave Columbia two key free throws to seal the game late, 61-59.
The Lady Eagles take their first loss in conference play, dropping to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in league play. WBU will return to the court on Monday, Dec. 29 against Fisk. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. from Nashville, Tenn.