Box Score
FULTON, Mo. -- Junior guard Blake French scored a career-high 21 points to help the William Woods University women's basketball team snap a two-game losing streak, as they defeat Williams Baptist College 69-51 on Saturday afternoon.
It was a career day for French, as she set a new personal-best in both points and rebounds. The St. Charles, Mo., native hit 8-of-13 from the floor in the 21-point performance, which surpasses her previous career-best of 19 points set during her sophomore year against Harris-Stowe. The guard also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in the William Woods' (14-7; 7-6 AMC) victory. Â
"I think Blake played the best game of her career here this afternoon," said Head Coach Dan Chapla. "She was all over the place. Not only did she perform on the offensive side of the ball, but she really brought it defensively and crashed the boards extremely hard. I'm happy to see her pick up a career-high in that category this afternoon."
French's seven rebounds helped the Owls to 50-43 advantage on the glass, as they outrebounded a Williams Baptist (10-9; 6-7 AMC) team that was outperforming its opposition by 11 caroms per game entering Saturday's contest. Senior forward Katie Scherder collected a game-high 13 rebounds for WWU on the day, as she was just one point away from a double-double.
"Williams Baptist is a great rebounding team, and Katie really put on a good showing today against them," said Chapla. "Katie might be the best rebounding forward we've had here since Rachel Baker. She has been consistent all year on the glass despite some offensive struggles at times this season."
After struggling from the floor in its last two games, William Woods came out and shot 36.1 percent against the second-best defensive team in the NAIA.
"We got some turnovers, which allowed for some easy transition baskets," Chapla said of his offense. "When Williams Baptist gets you in the half court they are tough to score on, so it was key for us to force some turnovers, get in transition, and score some easy buckets, and we did that today."
After allowing an average of 94.5 points over its last two games, the WWU defense stood tall on the day and held the Lady Eagles to 51 points on 28.8 percentage from the floor. Chapla credits his team for bouncing back and playing tough hard-noised defense after suffering a pair of blowout losses.
William Woods started the first half hitting just two of its first 12 shots as they were tied at 7-7 after the first eight minutes of play.
From that point, the Owls would get into a rhythm as they went on an 8-0 run to build a 15-7 lead to force a Williams Baptist timeout. The Lady Eagles would end their scoreless streak with a basket out of the break, but WWU tacked on five more unanswered points to take a 20-9 lead.
After each team traded baskets, a 6-0 Williams Baptist run brought them within seven points at 22-15 with 4:23 left to play in the half. The Owls finished the first frame on a strong note, as they scored 10 of the half's final 12 points to take a 15-point lead into the locker room at 32-17.
Williams Baptist was able to pull within 11 points to start the second half, as they opened with a 9-5 run to make 37-26. The Lady Eagles kept chipping away at the William Woods lead and pulled within single-digits at 44-36 with 11 minutes remaining after an Alisha Stone three-pointer.
Over the next three minutes, the Owls would go on a 10-1 run to push their lead back out to 17 points at 54-37.
WWU was able to maintain its double-figure lead for the remainder of the game, and a French layup with 2:03 remaining gave the Owls a game-high 21-point lead before settling for the 69-51 home win.
The win breaks a fifth-place tie between the two AMC schools, as William Woods completes the season sweep of the Lady Eagles, and takes sole possession of fifth place with nine conference games remaining.
WWU returns to action on Thursday night, as they travel to St. Louis to take on a tough Harris-Stowe State University squad. Tip-off for this AMC contest is set for 5:30 p.m.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full preview and recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
