Box Score FULTON, Mo. -- After taking an eight-point lead into the halftime break, the William Woods University women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to beat Missouri Valley College 75-49 in the home opener for the Owls.
Stephanie Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill.) and
Priscila Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) each had 15-point outings for WWU in the contest, with Copelin coming up just two rebounds shy of a double-double.
Missouri Valley controlled the opening tap and scored first, but WWU immediately responded with a 10-2 run, with Copelin accounting for six of WWU's points in the stretch.
The Lady Vikings responded with a 6-2 spurt, but William Woods was able to push its lead back to 19-10 with just over 8 minutes left in the half before hitting a bit of a cold stretch.
Missouri Valley was able to close the gap and take the lead briefly, but the Owls scored the final nine points of the half, with Copelin sparking the run with an assist on a
Julia Wells (Springfield, Mo.) three-pointer and a block on the defensive end. Copelin fed Wells for three to close the half as well, as WWU led 34-26 going into the locker room.
Coming out of the intermission, the Lady Vikings were able to narrow the gap to 42-37 with 13:29 to play, but a trey by
Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) and a pair of Wells free throws moved the WWU lead back to double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the game.
The Owls were able to pull away down the stretch, as they held Missouri Valley without a field goal over the final 3:04 of the contest to extend to a 26-point victory.
William Woods hit at a .464 pace from the floor on the night, with a .538 pace from three point range buoyed by a 4-for-5 second half clip. The Owls hit 16 of 21 free throws on the night as well, with Missouri Valley connecting on only five of their 12 trips to the line. The Lady Vikings mustered just a .282 pace from the floor and a .400 rate from distance.
The Owls controlled the glass, recording 39 defensive rebounds on the night to 26 for MVC and a 47-42 overall edge. WWU also handed out 17 assists to 14 for the visitors.
WWU moves to 2-0 on the season for the first time since the 2010-11 season, while Missouri Valley falls to 1-2. The Owls hit the road this weekend to take on Lincoln College. Tipoff for the game is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
