Women' basketball falls at Columbia

COLUMBIA, S.C. - An 8-1 lead was the best moment of the night for the Union basketball team, as a dominant second-quarter surge by Columbia catapulted the Koalas to a 73-50 Appalachian Athletic Conference win Tuesday night.

Consecutive 3s by LeAsia Linton and Haley Brock gave the Bulldogs an early seven-point lead, and while Columbia did quickly answer back, Union kept things competitive well into the second quarter, even tying the game at 23 with 6:35 to play on a Raigan King layup.

But things turned for good after the Koalas scored the final 15 points of the first halt to take a cozy 38-23 lead into the break. The Bulldogs shot 0-for-6 from the field with five turnovers during run the decisive run and shot just 32 percent from the floor for the game.

Linton and King both had 11 points, while Linton also pulled down a team-best six rebounds for the Bulldogs, who fall to 4-22 overall with a 4-18 mark in the AAC. Brock also chipped in nine points and four assists.

Union will celebrate senior day on Saturday, closing out the home portion of its schedule with a 2 p.m. tipoff against Columbia International.