Box Score
FULTON, Mo. -- The No. 19-ranked William Woods University women's basketball team used a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint and tallied 14 second-chance points to spark them to a 63-49 victory over Lindenwood University-Belleville at Anderson Arena on Monday night.
William Woods (5-1) defeated Lindenwood-Belleville (8-4) for the second time in three games. This time however, the Owls were able to limit the Lady Lynx offensively by holding them to a season-low 49 points, this coming after 75-point performance against WWU back on Nov. 19 in Belleville, Ill.
"We weren't great offensively tonight, but our defense picked us up tonight and really carried the team for the first time this season," said Head Coach Dan Chapla. "It was great to see because we haven't been great defensively over the last three games, and it was something we've talked about over the last few days and it was one of the main keys in the game tonight."
Coming into the game, William Woods had giving up an average of 85 points over its last three contests, which included giving up 98 points to NCAA Division I Western Illinois in an exhibition game. Yet tonight, the Owls were able to regain its defensive presence and limited Lindenwood-Belleville to 49 points on 31 percent from the floor, WWU's lowest total allowed since the 70-39 victory over Haskell Indian Nations University back on Nov. 13.
"We guarded the dribble tonight and prevented them from getting into the paint," Chapla expressed. "We rotated very well defensively, covered their shooters for the most part, which was a big difference from the last time we played them."
The Owls took full advantage of its size tonight by outrebounding the Lady Lynx 46-33, and outscoring LU-B 22-10 inside the paint.
Senior Stephanie Copelin was one of main components to the Owls post advantage, as the 5-10 forward collected 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Katie Scherder also efficiently crashed the boards tonight by collecting a game-high nine caroms.
For the second time this season, Blake French provided a huge spark off the bench for WWU against Lindenwood-Belleville, by scoring a team-high 12 points. This coming after scoring a season-best 14-point effort against them just two and a half weeks ago.
"Blake has been good all year," said Chapla of his junior guard. "She does all the little thing for us and is an outstanding player when she has a good scoring night. We know what we have in Blake, and it's a nice luxury as a coach, to bring someone off your bench that's a quality player."
French helped WWU to a 25-18 advantage in points off the bench, as the Owls outperformed LU-B for the second time this season in that category.
Senior Andraquay Quinnine rounded out a trio of double-figure scorers for William Woods with 10 points. The San Francisco native recorded her first double-digit scoring game since Nov. 13, when she tallied 16 points.
Junior Shelby Kohrman was the lone double-digit scorer for Lindenwood-Belleville, as she recorded a game-high 14 points on 4-of-16 from the floor.
It was a rough start for both teams as they shot a combined 1-of-13 from the floor over the game's first 4:28. William Woods found its stroke by going on a quick 9-0, capped off by a Paige Stewart lay up at the 11-minute mark, to give the Owls a 13-5 lead.
A Lindenwood-Belleville basket pulled the Lady Lynx within six at 13-7, but from that point both teams went cold from the floor as neither were able to score for nearly two and a half minutes.
A pair of Blake French free throws ended the scoring drought to give WWU a 15-7 lead with 8:23 remaining. Those free throws would spark a 9-4 run for the Owls and gave them a 24-11 lead late in the first frame. The Lady Lynx responded by closing the half on an 11-2 run to pull within four at 26-22 going into the break.
After trading baskets to start the half, William Woods would go on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Quinnine three-pointer to push its lead back to double-digits at 39-29 with 14:37 left in the game.
WWU was able to maintain its double-digit lead for most of the second half, but Lindenwood-Belleville's fourth three-pointer of the half cut its deficit to seven at 52-45 with 5:28 remaining.
Back-to-back treys by Scherder and Quinnine helped the Owls close out the game and take the 63-49 win.
The Owls will now open up American Midwest Conference play on Thursday night as they host rival and No. 13-ranked Columbia College. These two programs have met in each of the last four AMC Tournament Championships, with each program winning twice in those match ups.
"It's a little strange playing Columbia so early and we have to get our mindset ready for conference player," said Chapla. "This is the first time since I've been here that we have played them in the first semester, but it's just one of 22 games for us inside the AMC. They are all important, but with this being a rivalry game and a conference-opening contest, both sides will be a little more excited for this one."
Columbia College is 3-2 on the year and is coming off a 78-55 loss at No. 21 University of the Cumberlands. They have lost three of their last four games coming into Thursday's affair. Two-time AMC Player of the Year Heather English leads the team in scoring with her 19.8 points per game average.
This game will be the first of a conference-opening doubleheader at Anderson Arena on Thursday night as the women tip-off at 5:30, followed by the men's contest at roughly 7 p.m.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full preview and recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
