FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Despite holding Shawnee State University without a 3-pointer in the second half and outscoring the Bears 29-23 in the stanza, the William Woods University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a 18-45 halftime deficit, falling 47-68 in the first round of the 2012 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com.
The Owls quickly found themselves in a 10-point hole, as Shawnee State opened with a 4-14 run over the first 6:54.
Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) had WWU's only points in the run, converting a pair of free throws with just under 17:00 to go in the half and adding a bucket with 15:19 on the clock.
Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) tried to keep the Owls within reach, hitting a jumper with 11:32 on the clock, but SSU answered with five quick points, stretching out to a 6-19 lead.
Loesch would have the final tally of the half for WWU, as she hit one of a pair of free throws to send the Owls to the locker room trailing by 27.
Coming out of the break, the Owls struck first as Scherder picked the pocket of SSU's Tabby McKinney, with
Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) finding the bottom of the net from long range off the assist from
Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.).
It would take the Owls until the final two minutes of the game, however, to narrow the gap any closer, as they slowly whittled the deficit down to 20. A bucket from
Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) would close WWU to 47-66, but Shawnee State was able to answer with a Kassidy Hardgrove bucket for the final margin.
Scherder, Andrews and Taylor each finished the contest with seven points for William Woods, with Loesch the team's leading rebounder with eight. The Owls connected at just a .269 pace for the game, compared to a .481 pace for Shawnee State.
William Woods finishes the 2011-12 season with a 23-10 record.
