COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team will face its second straight NAIA Top 25 opponent on Thursday night, as they travel to No. 15-ranked Columbia College. Tip-off for this American Midwest Conference contest is set for 5:30 p.m.
The Owls (13-6; 6-5 AMC) will look to recover from a 37-point home loss against No. 2 Freed-Hardeman. In that game, WWU was held to just 18.2 percent shooting in the first half, which enabled the Lady Lions to go on a pair of extended runs to take a 31-point lead into the break. William Woods shot an even 50 percent in the second frame. However, saw its deficit grow to as much as 43 points, before suffering the 94-57 defeat.
"I thought we took care of the ball and got some shots, but couldn't get them to fall," said Head Coach Dan Chapla. "You have to hit shots against a team of that caliber, and we didn't. We've moved on from it and are now focused on Columbia."
Thursday marks the second time that the Owls have faced Columbia College (14-5; 10-1 AMC) this season. Back on Dec. 5, then No. 19-ranked William Woods could not defend its home court, as they fell to the then No. 13-ranked Cougars, 76-61.
William Woods had five players in double-figures that night, led by Blake French's 16-point performance. But, it wasn't enough to overcome a cold shooting night, as the Owls managed to hit just 30 percent from the field for the game, and allowed the duo of Heather English (20) and Aqua Corpening (18) to a combined 38 points.
"We will have our hands full on Thursday," said Chapla. "Columbia added a couple of players over the break to an already talented roster. We know what we are up against, they've been our biggest rival since I've been here. Our kids have to be ready to play. We turned it over against them 24 times the last we met, we've gotten better at ball protection since then, but especially being on the road, we cannot turn it over or it will be a long night."
Since the Dec. 5 meeting, William Woods committed an average of 14.6 miscues, a far better number than the 18.1 turnovers they were averaging per game going into the previous matchup against CC. Over the last 12 games, the Owls have committed 20 or more turnovers just once, and that came in the 56-42 win at Williams Baptist on Jan. 7.
WWU will be playing in a familiar arena on Thursday, as they will be playing its third game in the Arena of Southwell Complex this season. The Owls picked up their signature win of the so far on the year at Southwell Complex by defeating then No. 20-ranked University of the Cumberlands, 81-72, in the first game of the Cougars vs. Cancer classic back on Dec. 28.
However, it's been a while since William Woods has bested Columbia College, as they have lost four straight in the series, and haven't defeated the Cougars since the 2012 AMC Championship game.
For the Columbia College, they are led by two-time AMC Player of the Year Heather English. The guard leads the team – for all qualifying players – in scoring with 14.8 points per game. However, the senior has struggled of late, as she hasn't collected over 12 points in her last six contest, and has been held to single-digits in three of those games, including a season-low three points against Freed-Hardeman back on Jan. 18.
Despite her struggles, Chapla is well-aware that the Boonville, Mo., native is a deadly player and should not be overlooked on Thursday.
"She always seems to play well against us. We have to make her work, she is always going to make some tough shots, but you have to make her earn them against you. She's had a pair of high scoring games against us, but we can't let her have a career-night like we have in year's past."
In 10 career games against the Owls, English is averaging 15.9 points on a 40.6 shooting percentage. She has collected 20 or more points in four of her last six contest against WWU, including a game-best 20 points on 9-of-16 from the floor in the Dec. 5 win.
As a team, the Cougars are first in the conference in scoring, as they average 82.3 points. It will be another tall task for William Woods, after they allowed a season-high 94 points against Freed-Hardeman on Saturday.
Columbia will also have a new face on its team, in the form of 6-4 post player Janairrika Bland. Since becoming eligible at the start of the semester, the NCAA Division I transfer has led the team in scoring and rebounding, by averaging 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in five contests.
Coach Chapla says that taking care of the ball and rebounding are the keys to victory on Thursday for his team.
"Anytime you go on the road you have to take care of the ball and limit the other team's opportunities by rebounding. We need to do that, and have a couple of our best players step up and have good games. They don't have to have career games, but they have to at least their averages if we want any chance of beating a team as good as Columbia."
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
