COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Harris-Stowe State University women's basketball team was back in action this afternoon when they traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Columbia (Mo.) College Cougars in an AMC matchup. The Hornets were defeated by the Cougars by a final score of 69-49 to fall to 3-4 on the season and 3-1 in the American Midwest Conference. With the win, the Cougars improve to 7-2 on the year and 5-0 in the AMC.
 
Harris-Stowe came out in the first half and found themselves trailing 6-0 in the first two minutes of the game. They picked it up as the first quarter progressed and were able to cut the Cougars lead to 8-7 late in the period. The Cougars ended the quarter on a 5-2 run and took a 12-9 lead into the second. They carried over their momentum into the second and were able to grow their lead to 16-9. The Hornets bounced back and cut the lead to two, but a 15-5 run to end the half put the Cougars up 32-20 at the break.
 
The Hornets came out in the third quarter and cut the lead to nine in the first two minutes of the half. The Cougars answered back and went on an 11-4 run to take a 16-point lead in the contest. They continued to push the tempo and were able to grow their lead to 55-32 heading into the final frame. The Hornets were able to cut the lead to 18 late in the contest but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars closed them out down the stretch to hand the Hornets their first loss of 2021.
 
The Hornets had a tough time scoring the ball in this one as they went 18-for-61 (29.5%) from the floor and 6-for-17 (35.3%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded 48-40 and turned the ball over 15 times.
 
Ronne'zje Elliot led the way for the Hornets as she finished with a game high 19 points. In addition to Elliot, Taia Smith finished with a game high 13 rebounds and added nine points, while Surina Finnie added 10 points to round out the top performers for Harris-Stowe.
 
The Hornets return to the court on Thursday, January 21^st when they play host to the Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 5:30 p.m. in the Emerson Performance Center. No spectators will be allowed but live stats and video will be provided.