Columbia Secures 5th AAC Victory with a 79-70 Win over Bluefield in Final Home Game of 2023

COLUMBIA, SC- Women's Basketball closed out its home slate of games in 2023 on Saturday afternoon, collecting their fifth Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory over Bluefield, 79-70.

THE BASICS:

Columbia now has an overall record of 8-5 and 5-4 in AAC play; they'll play three more games before the new year, two of which are exhibitions. With the loss, Bluefield falls to 2-11 overall and 2-7 in AAC action.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Rams jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, 12-6. 
  
  
• Columbia locked in, though, closing the quarter on a 22-6 run thanks to their full-court press deployment. 
  
  
• Despite turning the ball over 14 times in the first half, the Koalas carried a 50-33 lead into the half behind 13 points from Tysonia Lowe. 
  
  
• The Koalas knocked in eight of their 13 three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes. 
  
  
• The third quarter was played at a snail's pace, with the two sides combining for just 25 points.
  
  
• Thanks to a 20-point lead Columbia built up in the first three quarters, they held off the Ram's offensive onslaught in the fourth. 
  
  
• Bluefield outscored Columbia 24-17 in the final ten minutes, but clutch free throw shooting shut the door on the Rams comeback hopes. 
  
  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Koalas bench led the way with 32 points, compared to just six for the guests. 
  
  
• Tysonia Lowe spearheaded that attack with a game-high 23 points on a 9-of-14 shooting performance.
  
  
• Carnasia Wells was lethal from deep range, connecting on 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc. 
  
  

UP NEXT:

Columbia will travel to Charlotte tomorrow to take on Queens University of Charlotte in exhibition action. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ at 2:00 p.m.