HANNIBAL, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team embarks on its final road trip of the 2013-14 regular season on Thursday, as they travel to Hannibal-LaGrange University for an important American Midwest Conference tilt. Tip-off for this game is set for 5:30 p.m.
William Woods (20-8, 13-7 AMC) will go into Thursday's game looking to secure the fourth seed for next week's AMC Tournament. A win over Hannibal-LaGrange (9-19, 9-11) would give them the conference's fourth spot, as they currently hold a half game lead over Park University with two games remaining for both teams.
Head Coach Dan Chapla knows that Thursday is an important game, but he believes it is something that his team will be ready for.
"Tomorrow is the most important game of the year for us," said the head coach. "They have all been important over the last few weeks in terms of positioning, but we need tomorrow to secure that opening-round bye. I've been telling our kids to take everything game-by-game, and we face an opponent who has been particularly tough at home this season. So we have to come prepared to play."
The Owls have won seven of their last eight games, including four straight, and are coming off a 92-49 thumping of Stephens College. They were led by junior guard Blake French, who tied her career-high for points scored in a game with 21. French has been solid for the Owls all season, as she is a career-best 11 points per game.
"Blake's shooting over 50 percent, which for a guard is extremely impressive," said Chapla. "She has a positive turnover-to-assist ratio, which has allowed her to play with a lot of confidence this season. She has really blossomed this season and developed into the player we thought she could be."
The Lady Trojan's Ashley Hurd-Spencer has been a force all season for Hannibal-LaGrange. The 6-0 forward leads the team in points (15.9), rebounds (6.8), and assists (2.8). Hurd-Spencer scored a season-high 28 points her last time out in a 59-54 win over Missouri Baptist.
"Hurd-Spencer is a really nice player for them, but fortunately for us, she is a nice matchup defensively for Katie Scherder," expressed Chapla. "She is going to get high teens in the scoring column because she is that good, but we cannot allow her to get into the high 20's. She can post up, she has nice touch down there, and is capable from hitting the three-point shot, so she is really a threat from everywhere."
Hannibal-LaGrange has won two of its previous three contests coming into Thursday's contest. HLGU has been tough at home as they have have won five of its nine games this season at home.
William Woods leads the all-time series 26-20. The Owls defeated Hannibal-LaGrange 72-46 in Anderson Arena earlier this season. Andrayquay Quinnine and Kennedy Volkart each recorded 12 points on the night in the victory, and the Owls defense held Hurd-Spencer just 10 points in that game.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
