FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team will face its toughest challenge of the 2013-14 season on Saturday, as they host No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University. Tip-off for this crucial American Midwest Conference contest, presented by MFA Oil, is set for 2 p.m.
William Woods (13-5; 6-4 AMC) will be looking for its fifth straight win on Saturday, as they seek a signature victory against the second-ranked team in nation, Freed-Hardeman (18-0; 10-0 AMC). The Lady Lions come into Anderson Arena as just one of two undefeated teams in the NAIA and have yet to lose an AMC contest in its inaugural season.
"Freed-Hardeman has been one of the best programs in the NAIA over the past ten years," said Head Coach Dan Chapla. "They are very well coached, very talented, and we'll have our hands full tomorrow."
The Owls' defensive prowess has returned over the four-game winning streak, by holding their opponents to 54.3 points per game. The numbers are even more staggering over the last two contests, as they held both Stephens College and Hannibal-LaGrange to 46 points.
Forcing turnovers has been a key to the recent success. During the four-game winning streak, William Woods has forced an average of 19.5 opponent miscues, which has accumulated for 21.8 points off turnovers per game.
"Getting opponents to turn the ball over has been one of the keys here recently," said Chapla. "We've been doing that, and it's allowed us to run in the open floor and get some really good looks at the basket. I'm proud that we've been able to get turnovers, but it will be a tough challenge for us against Freed. We have to force them into miscues, which should allow us to easy buckets. If we can't get that we will be struggling all day."
Offensively, William Woods has used a total team effort of late, as they have had at least 10 players in the scoring column in three of its last four games. On Thursday's win, the Owls had 10 players score, and were led by Andraquay Quinnine and Kennedy Volkart, as they each had a 12-point performance.
Both players continued their impressive play of late on Thursday, as Volkart's 12-point effort gave her the fifth double-digit scoring game in her last six contest. She is averaging a team-high 12.5 points over the stretch. For Quinnine, who has collected an AMC-leading 43 three pointers, she has posted double-figures in three straight games.
As a team, WWU has scored over 70 points in each of its last five games, and recently had a four-game streak snapped of where they had collected 80 or more points. On the year, the Owls are averaging 73.8 points per game, which is the highest points per game average under Chapla.
William Woods will need another strong offensive performance on Saturday, as Freed-Hardeman is second in the AMC in scoring with 81.4 points per contest.
The Lady Lions have four players, all starters, who are averaging double-figures in scoring, led by the Hayley Newby's 17.9 points per game. The 6-0 forward has scored double-digits in every game this season, and had a career-high 29 points her last time out against Williams Baptist.
Newby is also one of two players for FHU that is averaging a double-double on the year, as she is pulling down 10.1 caroms per game.
Grace Alonso de Armino is the other Lady Lion who is averaging a double-double, as she is posting 13.8 points and a team-high 11.3 rebounds per contest. The duo has collected a combined 19 double-doubles, as Newby has posted 10 and Alonso de Armino has collected nine.
"They have really good balance all over the floor," Chapla said. "Nearly all their starters are averaging double-figures so you really cannot double up on just one person. We just have to defend it, we may throw in a couple of different looks, but for the most part we have to be really good in our man pressure."
For as good as Freed-Hardeman is on offense, they are much better on defense. They lead the AMC in scoring defense, as they allow just 58.1 points per game. The mark is also the ninth-lowest total allowed in the NAIA.
Saturday will be a busy day at William Woods, as the school will honor three new members to its athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of this contest. Both squads will also be participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer and sneakers awareness weekend. Both Coach Chapla and men's Head Coach Nick Totta will be coaching in sneakers to help raise awareness for cancer research. Donations for the event will be taken at the front gate of Anderson Arena.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
