COLUMBIA, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team suffered its first tough loss on the 2014-15 season on Friday afternoon at the Cougars vs. Cancer Classic, as the Owls fell to (RV) University of the Cumberlands, 58-55.
Both the Owls (1-1) and the Patriots (1-0), finished with nearly identical statistics, as the Patriots shot 36.4 percent (24-of-66) from the field, while WWU shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56). From the three-point arc, both squads hit 22.2 percent of its shots, while at the free throw line, UC had a slightly better knockdown percentage of 66.7 (6-of-9), to the Owls 65.2 percent (15-of-23).
It was a back-and-forth game throughout the first half, but at the 7:06 mark, the Patriots maintained a 16-12 advantage. WWU, however, would respond with a 5-0 run, as newcomer
Nia Lateju hit both of her free throws and then gave the Owls a 17-16 lead, as after a steal from
Marissa Webb, she was able to find Lateju who drained the three-pointer, with just over 6:00 minutes remaining.
Lateju, a Norwalk, California, native, finished with a team-high 16 points, on 4-of-13 shooting, but was able to go 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while also leading the team with eight boards.
After tying the game at 18-18, the Patriots would regain the advantage at 20-18, as Antranea Alvin hit a two-point shot. The two teams' would tie it up twice more, but as the clock continued to tick down, the Patriots were up 28-27, after
Kennedy Volkart hit her two-point shot for WWU.
Then, after a missed shot attempt by UC,
Dennisha Rice came up the floor and made a three-pointer, with .03 seconds left, which put the Owls up 30-28 at the half.
Both teams' shot 33.3 percent through the first 20:00 minutes of play, while Lateju led the Owls with nine points, while Brooke Forsythe scored 13 for the Patriots.
To start the second half, William Woods went on a 5-0 run, as
Blake French hit a two pointer and then Webb knocked in her three-point shot, giving the Owls a 35-28 lead at the 18:56 mark, which was its largest advantage of the game.
Over the next four minutes, the Patriots were able to crawl back into the game and the two teams' would be tied up for the eighth time at 39-39, with 14:19 left in the outing.
On UC next possession, La Teesha DeLoach hit a three pointer, which gave them a 42-39 advantage, and from there, the team would push its lead out to a game-high eight points, at 54-46, after Forsythe drained her two-point shot at the 7:41 mark.
Forsythe, scored a game-high 23 points on 11-of-25 shooting on the day, while adding a team-high three blocks on the defensive side of the ball.
The Owls, however, would chip away at the Patriots advantage and were able to be down just one, at 56-55, with .47 seconds remaining, after Lateju hit a two pointer in the paint.
Forsythe, struck again on the next possession for UC, as she made her two-point shot, giving the Patriots a 58-55 lead, with .21 seconds left.
WWU had one final chance to tie the game as the buzzer sounded, but the teams' attempt just missed from going in and the Owls fell in heart-breaking fashion by three.
Joining Lateju in the double-digit point total for WWU, was French, having 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Webb added 10 points.
The Owls will return to the court tomorrow afternoon, as they play Bethel College in the finale of the Columbia College Cougars vs. Cancer Classic. Tip-off will start at 2 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full recap and score from Columbia, Missouri.
