Box Score
Point Lookout, Mo. -- The No. 19-ranked William Woods University women's basketball team could not erase a 21-point first half deficit, as they drop its first game of the season, falling 82-67 at No. 10 College of the Ozarks on Saturday night.
William Woods (4-1) fell victim to five first half three-pointers by NAIA Division II College of the Ozarks (7-3), as the Lady Bobcats shot a blistering 57 percent from the floor in the opening period and used a 30-9 run to help C of O take an 18-point advantage midway through the first half.
The Owls would find themselves down by a game-high 21 points after a Brandy Uchtman three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half, and trailed 50-32 going into the break.
WWU clawed back into the game in the second half and cut its deficit to single-digits at the 14:52 mark after a Julia Wells jumper. Ozarks responded with a quick 5-0 run to push its lead back out to 14 at 62-48.
The Lady Bobcats maintained its double-digit lead until the 4:10 mark when Blake French brought the Owls within eight points at 73-65.
From that point, the College of the Ozarks defense locked down William Woods, as they managed just two points for the remainder of the game en route to the 82-67 defeat.
Katie Scherder continued her strong play for the Owls, as she was one of three WWU players in double-figures with a team-high 16-point performance on 6-of-13 from the floor.
Senior Stephanie Copelin contributed 12 points to mark her third double-figure scoring contest in her last four games, and freshman Kennedy Volkart came off the bench to collect a career-high 11 points.
The Owls were ice cold from behind the arc all night and hit just 2-of-20 for a 10 percent success rate. Despite the poor performance from long range, William Woods still managed to hit 40 percent from the floor on 23-of-57 shooting.
Defensively, WWU allowed a season-high in both points allowed and opponent field goal percentage, with College of the Ozarks hitting an astounding 55.6 percent from the floor for the game. C of O had three players in double-figures led by Alice Heinzler's 25-point performance.
William Woods will now take a nine-day break from game action, as they will host Lindenwood University-Belleville on Dec. 2. The Owls defeated LU-B 82-75 earlier this week in Belleville, Ill. Tip-off for this game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full preview and recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
