AMES, Iowa — The Columbia women's basketball team hit 18 threes against No. 7/8 Iowa State but fell to the Cyclones, 99-76, Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.
 
By sinking 18 threes, Columbia (3-2) set a new program record for 3-pointers in a game. The Lions went 18-of-42 (.429) from the perimeter, breaking the program's previous record of 16 on Nicole Stephens' trey with 2:11 to play. Sienna Durr, a senior from Grinnell, Iowa who was playing in front of a hometown crowd, hit the 18th and final triple.
 
"I was so excited to come back home and it's always amazing to see how many Grinnell supporters always come out," said Durr, who was the Iowa State Class 4A Player of the Year in 2018. "Always rallying behind me and always rallying behind anyone from Grinnell. It's so great to see the community's support.
 
"Coming in here was an amazing opportunity to play against a top-10 team. Like Coach [Griffith] was saying all week and in the locker room, we are training for March right now. Playing against the top teams in the country .., it's just going to make us better for when we are playing in March. I thought it was a really great experience even though we didn't quite have the outcome we wanted." The Lions were led by junior Abbey Hsu, who scored a team-high 24 points and went 4-of-8 from 3-point land. Kitty Henderson reached double figures with 12 points and a career-high-tying seven assists, while Paige Lauder chimed in with 10 off the bench and was 3-for-4 from downtown.
 
"We knew they were going to be a handful and we knew we were going to get their best on their home floor," head coach Megan Griffith said. "I thought we did some nice things at times. We didn't execute our game plan early and we dug ourselves a hole. This is just such a valuable learning experience. We have to take this and understand that this is what it's like to play in March and get better from this one."
 
Iowa State (4-0) came out hot, hitting 12-of-19 from the floor on their way to 30 first-quarter points. To Columbia's credit, the Lions hung in there with 17 of their own after 10 minutes. Abbey Hsu pulled the Lions back within a dozen early in the second quarter but fouling caught up with Columbia. The Cyclones entered the bonus with 6:02 remaining and went 7-of-8 at the line in the frame to lead 51-34 at the break.
 
The Lions kept fighting in the second half and hit shots to hang within striking distance. Hsu, Hannah Pratt and Paige Lauder all connected from deep as Columbia started the half 3-for-5 from downtown. However, Iowa State showed its class, leading 71-45 with 3:00 left in the quarter despite the Lions shooting 50 percent (11-22) from beyond the arc.
 
All-American Ashley Joens ended the game 7-of-10 from three and went for a game-high 33 points and 10 rebounds. Stephanie Soares (15) and Emily Ryan (13) joined her in double figures, as the Cyclones shot 53 percent on the day and were 12-of-28 (.429) from the outside,
 
Columbia will prepare for the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament, which begins Friday in Coral Gables, Florida with a matchup against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-2). The Lions will then take on either Miami or NC A&T on Sunday.
 
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.