Koala Women Rally to Edge TMU 55-54

COLUMBIA, SC - The Columbia College women's basketball rallied in the second half to steal a win away from the Truett-McConnell Bears (Ga.) 55-54 at home Wednesday night for their second straight win.

Sophomore guard Tysonia Lowe led the Koalas with 17 points and 5 steals while guard Keyshuna Fair had 12 points, 2 steals and a block. Junior wing Makayla Street also added 8 points and a team-best 9 rebounds and 3 steals.

Sophomore Kamya Hatten and Jadein Haynes each added 6 points apiece off the bench. Hatten also had 2 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Columbia got off to a very slow start offensively, scoring just 8 points in the first quarter and only six in the second but played quality defense holding the Bears to only 22 points in the half. CC then began the second half on a 10-0 run to immediately take back the lead at 24-22. Each team would then score 20 points apeice in the third quarter as TMU took a 42-34 lead going into the fourth.

However, in the final quarter, the Koalas came out firing out-scoring the Bears 21-12 to squeak out the 1-point win. Lowe had consecutive three-point AND-1 plays in the final few minutes to help get the Koalas over the hill. CC trailed by nine with 6 minutes to play before ending the game on an 18-8 run for the win.

The Lady Koalas improve to 15-5 overall and 8-5 in the AAC while Truett drops to 8-10 and 5-7 in conference. Columbia will next head west to Reinhardt in Georgia to battle the Eagles on Saturday in a 1:00 tip.