FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team will begin the defense of its 2012 American Midwest Conference Tournament championship on Wednesday as they host Harris-Stowe State University. Tip-off for this AMC Quarterfinals game will be at 7:00 p.m.
Admission for the game will be five dollars. All William Woods University faculty, staff, and students will receive free admission with a valid ID.
2012-13 was another successful season under head coach Dan Chapla, as the team recorded its fifth consecutive 20-win season at 23-5 and spent all year in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Chapla credits his players for having the talent to maintain that success over the years. “Our players have done things the right way for years,” said Chapla. “I really believe that (five straight 20-win seasons) is a by-product of doing things the right way. I'm really proud of what we have been able to do here.”
Just like previous years, the Owls built their success on the defensive side of the ball. William Woods allowed teams to score just 57.5 points per game on 35 percent shooting from the floor. “Defense is in my background. I have always been around very defensive orientated programs and we demand it from day one,” explained Chapla.
In 28 games this year, the Owls held opponents under 60-points 16 times. “Our kids buy into, defense is something you can control night in and night out. There might be some nights you don't shoot well, but you can always bring it defensively every night.”
Offensively, William Woods was led this season by junior college transfer Priscila Santos. The 5-11 Brazilian native made huge impact for the Owls this season as she averaged 16.4 points on the year, the highest point per game average since the 2008-09 season when All-American Rachel Baker contributed 17.4 points per contest. “Priscila has been everything that was advertised for us in her recruitment,” the head coach exampled.
Santos ended the regular season by scoring at least 20 points in her last nine games. “When Priscila got here, she was battling a foot injury, and it really knocked her out of practice for the first month of the season. She got healthier and the results in the games have shown that. It's very exciting for a coach, to get her back next year healthy and have her a year into our program.”
It was a year of transition for the Brazilian native, after coming to William Wood from Eastern Utah University. “Before she got here she had always been a guard. We put her into the post because we had a lot of good players at the guard position,” said Chapla. It has been a smooth transition for Santos as her 50.1 shooting percentage led the Owls and was the 21st-highest mark in the NAIA.
After losing a few starters from last year's squad, several players were depended on stepping up, in order to have a successful 2012-13 season. One of those players was junior Katie Scherder.
Scherder was the most experienced player returning from last season's squad as she made 30 starts in 33 games. Yet, despite the playing experience the 5-11 guard held a career average of 3.9 points per game prior to this year. This season, she has upped her average to 8.5 points per contest and has developed into one of the premier rebounding guards in the AMC.
“I am very excited about the development of Katie Scherder. She has grown tremendously as an offensive threat. She improved this year and shot 38.7 percent from the floor and when she got here I would have never imagined her getting to that point.”
Scherder has been impressive on the glass this season for the Owls. She ranks second on the team in rebounding with her 6.6 caroms per game average. “She has really become one of the best, if not the best, rebounding guard in the league this season,” Chapla exclaimed.
She really showed off her ability to crash the glass on Dec. 30 as she collected 16 rebounds against AIB. That total marked the fourth-highest rebounding total in a game in the AMC this season.
The Owls finished the AMC regular season at 14-4 earning and will be going into the AMC Tournament as the third-seed, their lowest seeding since the 2007-08 season.
The four conference losses came against the top two teams in the AMC, Columbia College and Lyon College. Though the Owls are 0-4 against the top two seeds, coach Chapla is confident going into the tournament. In his tenure at WWU he has amassed an AMC Tournament record of 11-1 with three titles.
William Woods opens the tournament on Wednesday with a home game against Harris-Stowe in the AMC Quarterfinals. HSSU comes into the tournament as the sixth-seed as they finished the year 10-20 and 7-11 in the AMC. The Owls swept the season series with the Lady Hornets, but they were hard-fought victories as WWU secured a 68-57 win in Fulton on Jan. 5 and escaped St. Louis with a 68-62 win over Harris-Stowe on Feb. 2.
The Lady Hornets features the conference's top leading rebounder, as well as the league's third-leading scoring in Shanique Buford. The forward, who averages 16.6 points per game and 10.7 rebounds, collected a double-double in both games against the Owls this year, including an 18-point, 19-rebound effort in Fulton on Jan. 5.
Stopping Buford is a focal-point for Chapla in Wednesday's game. “She is a load inside. We cannot allow her to have a career-night, she is going to get her average, but we cannot allow her to get 30 points or we will get beat.”
Chapla urges caution about Harris-Stowe despite their record. “They are a team that isn't the favorite going in, and they have nothing to lose. Harris-Stowe always plays us tough, just look at the games we had with them this year. It's a scary game, if they come out loose and confident then who knows what can happen?”
Experienced success in postseason tournaments is an invaluable commodity for teams across the nation going into March, and the Owls have that. William Woods features a few players who have recorded double-digit games in this tournament in years past and Chapla thinks that experience will make them a tough out in the tournament. “I think our kids are not afraid to play in big games, and if we get to where we should we will not be intimidated. We are going to play hard for 40 minutes and we will see what happens.”
