(FULTON, Mo., Jan. 13)--The 14th-ranked William Woods University women's basketball team defeated visiting Hannibal-LaGrange University Thursday night. The Owls won the American Midwest Conference match-up 73-61 in Anderson Arena.

William Woods took a 30-20 lead into halftime. Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) led the Owls at the break with eight points. WWU shot 48.1% from the field in the opening half. The Owls held the Trojans to 24.1% shooting in the first 20 minutes.

Hannibal-LaGrange cut into the WWU lead and eventually took a 48-47 lead with 8:44 remaining. The Owls retook the lead on a three-pointer from Jill Sutton (Warrenton, Mo.). Woods pushed the lead back to 10 on a lay-up and free throw from Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.).

Rachel Baker (Mexico, Mo.) led the Owls with 20 points. Baker added seven rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals. Andrews added 17 points and five assists in the win. Sutton and Loesch reached double-figures as well for the Owls. Each scored 13 points in the victory. Sutton becomes the 21st WWU women's basketball player to reach 1000 career points. She now has 1007 career points.

Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) grabbed seven rebounds off the bench for William Woods. The Owls and Trojans each had 32 rebounds on the night. Williams Woods shot 60% from the field in the win. Hannibal-LaGrange shot 35.9% from the field in the loss.

William Woods improves to 16-1 on the season and 3-0 in the AMC. Hannibal-LaGrange falls to 3-14 on the season and 1-2 in league play.

The Owls will return to action on January 15. They will travel to Walnut Ridge, Ark., and play AMC rival Williams Baptist College. Tip-off is at 2 pm.