Lady Koala Basketball Rallies But Falls Short at AAC Tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The 8th seeded Columbia College women's basketball team posted a big fourth quarter rally, but ended up falling just short in their comeback bid to overtake the 9th seeded Cavaliers of Montreat College on Wednesday in the first round of the AAC women's tournament. CC went down 65-59 from the MeadowView Marriott Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.

Junior 2nd team guard Anaya Muhammad led the Koalas with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and three 3-pointers while freshman shooting guard Krislyn Wilder scored a season-high 17 points with three treys along with 5 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Freshman forward Leanissa Swinton also set a season-high and Lady Koala season record with 16 rebounds including 8 offensive along with four points while fellow freshman forward Natalie Pitts totaled 6 points and 11 rebounds with a steal and a block. Junior guard Lauren Wearbon led with six assists and three steals along with 4 points and 4 rebounds.

The Koalas out-rebounded the Cavaliers 47-39 but struggled from three-point range shooting just 6 of 30 (20%) along with 34.5% overall. Montreat shot over 40% overall and 30.5% from three. Columbia got out to a 16-14 lead after the first quarter before limiting the Cavs to just 10 points in the second quarter to lead 29-24 at the break.

However, MC came out on fire in the third quarter outscoring the Koalas 31-12 to take a 55-41 lead heading into the fourth. Halfway through the fourth, the Koalas found themselves down by 16, but then went on a 14-4 run to trim the Cavs' lead down to six with 30 seconds to go. Unfortunately, that would be as close as CC would come as their season came to an end.

Columbia finishes Toccara Toland's first season 13-16 overall and 9-11 in the conference. Montreat improved to 11-16 and will next face top seeded Pikeville on Thursday.