FULTON, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team continued its hot shooting on Saturday afternoon and in the process extended its winning streak to five games, as the Owls defeated Benedictine University at Springfield, 98-31.
The Owls (6-1; 2-0 AMC), totaled its highest point total on the season, after shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from downtown and 81.3 percent from the charity-stripe, while defensively, they limited the Bulldogs (0-2; 0-2 AMC), to a 28.8 field goal percentage and forced 24 turnovers.
After seeing 13 players score against Stephens College on Thursday night, all 15 players appearing in today's game, totaled at minimum two points. The bench for
WWU was strong all game and they were led by freshman
Nikki Callahan, as the Maryland Heights, Missouri, native, recorded her first collegiate double-double, having a game and career-high 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting and added 10 rebounds.
Paige Stewart totaled a season-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while
Grace Wade netted a career-high 10 points and added six rebounds, giving her 15 the last two games.
Destani Stensrud totaled nine points and a team-high three steals, while
Blake French and
Kendra Vernatti contributed eight points each. Freshman
Karinne Lane added a career-high seven points off the bench, while coming off her 17-point performance against Stephens,
Veronica Jones added seven points as well.
For the second consecutive game, the Owls started fast out of the gate, as they jumped out to a 23-4 lead, after
Paige Stewart drained a three-pointer. The teams' defense was stout throughout the first 20:00 minutes of play, while on offense, they continued to hit bucket-after-bucket and were able to push its advantage out to 57-19, its largest lead of the half, with just over one minute remaining, after Callahan hit her two-point shot. Â
In the first frame, the Owls shot 52.6 percent (20-of-38) from the field and went 11-of-13 from the free throw line, while the Bulldogs were held to just 36.0 percent shooting. Stensrud led the Owls with nine points, while for BenU-Springfield, Johynn-a Evans had six points.
The offense continued rolling in the second half, as through the first 7:00 minutes of play, WWU went on a 20-4 run, capped off by a two point basket by
Julia Wells, who finished the play off, after coming up with a steal on the defensive end.
As the clock continued to tick away, the offense moved the ball, drove the lane well and hit the open shot when they had it, while on defense, WWU controlled the boards and made the Bulldog offense uncomfortable all afternoon with consistent pressure.
The team hit one final basket with .22 seconds left, as Lane made her two point shot, giving WWU its largest victory of the season, as they were victorious by 67 points.
Offensively for the Bulldogs, they were led by Evans, totaling a team-high 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Veronica Lawson and TaLesa Thomas totaled six each, while Ronnetta Taylor added five points.
The Owls will look for its sixth consecutive victory after Thanksgiving break, as the team will host Hannibal-LaGrange University on December 4
th. Tipoff will start at 5:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com throughout the 2014-15 season for full previews and recaps on the women's basketball team. Â
