FULTON, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team suffered its second consecutive loss on Thursday night, as the Owls fell to No. 23-ranked Lyon College, 52-43.
It was a tough shooting night for both teams', as the Owls (8-3; 4-2 AMC) shot 29.6 percent from the field and 15.0 percent from downtown, while the Scots (8-3; 4-2 AMC), were limited to 30.5 percent shooting from the floor.
For William Woods, they were led by junior
Nia Lateju, scoring a team-high 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
Kennedy Volkart and
Blake French each added eight points and eight rebounds, while
Dennisha Rice contributed four points.
Lyon College, meanwhile, were led by Taylor Gaedtke, recording an impressive double-double, having 14 points and a game-high 14 boards. Carina Jackson totaled 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting, while Elliot Taylor totaled nine points and eight rebounds.
It was a back-and-forth matchup early on, including six ties through the first seven minutes of play, as both teams' met up at 13-13 at the 12:13 mark, after Lateju made her two point shot in the paint off a Scots turnover.
Then, Lyon would regain the advantage on its next possession, as they forced a WWU turnover, which allowed Taylor Grigg to drain a three-pointer, off an assist from Ashala Watson, to take a 16-13 lead.
The Scots would continue to maintain its advantage over the next three minutes of play, as they pushed its lead out to 26-17, after Carina Jackson made her two point shot at the 8:17 mark.
The Owls, however, continued to battle, as they narrowed Lyon's lead down to five (28-23), after
Blake French collected an offensive rebound and made the second chance bucket with just over four minutes remaining.
Lyon was able to respond with a 5-0 run, taking its largest lead of the game at 33-23, after Carina Jackson connected on a three-pointer with .48 seconds left in the half.
Julia Wells came down on the court and drained a three-pointer of her own with .28 seconds remaining, but Watson made her two point shot with just .03 seconds on the clock, which sent the Scots into the locker room up, 35-26.
WWU shot 38.5 percent from the floor in the first half, and were led by Lateju totaling nine points, while Lyon held a field goal percentage of 37.5 percent, with Gaedtke's 10 points and six rebounds leading the way.
In the second half, the Owls went on a 7-4 run to open the final 20:00 minutes of play, as Lateju made another two point basket, cutting the Scots lead down to 39-35, at the 15:20 mark.
Lyon still, however, held its marginal lead, as they were able to gain some breathing back, having a 45-37 lead, with just under 12:30 left in the game. After
Paige Stewart made her two point shot at the 10:32 mark, putting the scoreboard at 45-39, the two teams' would pick up its defensive efforts, as neither squad was able to make a basket for the next three minutes of action.
Then, after grabbing down a defensive rebound and getting fouled, Volkart headed to the free throw line and the sophomore was able to make both free throws', which allowed WWU to be down by just four (45-41), with 6:48 on the clock.
WWU was hanging in there as the clock continued to wind down, as they trailed 47-43, but at the 2:42 mark, after Lyon missed its first six threes' of the half, Carina Jackson knocked in a corner three-pointer, giving Lyon a 50-43 lead.
The deficit proved to be too much for William Woods, as the Scots were able to hold on for the nine-point win inside Anderson Arena.
The Owls will head into the holiday break with an 8-3 record, while going 4-2 in American Midwest Conference (AMC) play. The team will return to the court on December 30
th, as they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for an exhibition game against Southeast Missouri State University.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com later this month for a full preview of the game against the Red Hawks.
