Koala Women Come Up Short vs. SMC

contributions from Sports Information intern, Malaurie Martin

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Columbia College women's basketball team put up a good fight on their home court Wednesday evening, but came up just short in falling to rival Spartanburg Methodist College 75-70 from the Godbold Center.

Sophomore Guard Makiah Thompson posted a terrific effort in the close loss shooting a perfect 5 of 5 from the three-point line while going 8 of 9 from the floor overall to score a season-high 26 points with eight rebounds, 7 assists and two steals in 37 minutes.

Also playing well and having a big night for the Koalas was freshman forward Natalie Pitts as she posted a season-hoigh 19 points and eight rebounds. Starters Lauren Wearbon and Shandrea Pringle also combined for 9 points and 8 rebounds with 4 assists while guards Anaya Muhammad and freshman Krislyn Wilder combined for 13 points, 8 rebounds, and six assists off the bench.

Going into halftime, the Lady Koalas trailed by four, with a score of 32-28 as Thompson made a three at the buzzer. CC tied it by the end of the third bringing the score to 44-all. However, the Koalas were outscored by five in a high-scoring final quarter, 31-26 to suffer the tough defeat. 

Columbia shot nearly 41% from the floor overall while going 30.5% from three but outrebounded the Pioneers by an impressive 55-31 margin in the defeat. 

The Koala women fall to 8-9 overall and 4-6 in the conference with the loss while SMC improves to 10-7 and 5-5 in the league. 

The Lady Koalas will next remain home to host Milligan University on Saturday at 1:30 pm from Columbia.