FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team saw points from all but one player on the roster, but Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) was the biggest contributor with a career-best 20 on the night. The Owls powered to a 65-55 win over Park, moving to 7-2 in the league and 17-7 overall.
 
The game got off to a slow start, with neither team able to score in the opening two minutes. The Pirates would score first, but WWU uncorked a 12-2 run, bookended by treys from Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) and Michaela Brinkley (Kearney, Mo.) to take a 12-6 lead with 12:36 left in the half.
 
WWU continued with the stifling defense, allowing just one field goal for Park over a span of more than 10 minutes, taking a 27-9 lead with just over five minutes to go in the half.
 
The Owls hit a cold stretch of their own, but Park was able to manage just one bucket - a jumper from Vivian Holcomb with 3:52 on the clock - before Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) snapped the cold spell with a three-pointer from the left elbow to put WWU up 30-11. WWU cruised into the half up 34-13.
 
Over the first six minutes, WWU was able to stretch the lead to 44-20 before hitting a major cold stretch. Park was able to narrow the gap to 49-39, as the Owls were able to connect on just two shots over the next eight minutes, while the Pirates poured in 19 points.
 
Taylor finally pulled the Owls out of the funk with a bucket at the 6:30 mark, followed by a pair of free throw makes a minute later. Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) added a pair from the stripe as well, with Taylor knocking down two more at the 3:22 mark. Park tried to answer, picking up a bucket from Danila Fabbri followed by a steal and a floater in the lane from Joanna Matthews, but Taylor put the kibosh on the spurt, calmly knocking down a three-pointer on the other end to put WWU up 60-43 with 2:41 to go.
 
The Owls were able to hold off a late push by Park, finishing out 10-point winners. William Woods finished the night at a .429 pace from the floor and despite just 1-of-4 shooting from distance in the second half, the Owls posted a .462 mark from distance on the night. WWU capitalized on 28 total fouls from Park, connecting on 23 of 28 trips to the line. Park finished with a .367 pace on the night, but mustered just one trey in 15 attempts.
 
Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) and Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) led the Owls with seven rebounds each, with Aubuchon equaling Andrews with nine points in the contest. Brianna Beridon led the Pirates with 12, with Holcomb and Oasha White each tallying 10.
 
William Woods is back in action Saturday against Columbia College. Tipoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.