ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The William Woods University women's basketball team will try to string together two wins in a row as they travel to Harris-Stowe State University on Thursday. Tip-off for the American Midwest Conference contest is set for 5:30 p.m.
After suffering back-to-back losses to the likes of No. 2 Freed-Hardeman and No. 15 Columbia College, William Woods (14-7; 7-6 AMC) rediscovered its winnings ways by using a strong defensive effort to defeat Williams Baptist College, 69-51, in Anderson Arena last Saturday. The Owls will need to maintain their defensive presence if they want to collect the season sweep of Harris-Stowe (7-14; 5-8 AMC), as the Lady Hornets come into Thursday's contest winners in four of their last six games.
Blake French led the charge for WWU its last time out, as the St. Charles, Mo., native had her best game ever in an Owl uniform by picking up a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds. The junior guard has been William Woods' most consistent player in AMC play, as she is averaging a team-high 11.1 points per game through 13 league contests.
French's previous career-best in points came against Thursday's opponent, as she posted 19 points against HSSU back on Jan. 5, 2013 in Anderson Arena.
On Saturday, William Woods held its opponent to 51 points, breaking a two-game stretch where they were allowing over 90 points to the opposition. On the year, WWU is allowing teams to score an average of 64.3 points against them on a 38.1 shooting percentage.
On the other side, the Owls offense is having one of their best seasons under Head Coach Dan Chapla, as they are putting up 72 points per game. WWU has five players who are averaging over eight points per contest, led by Andraquay Quinnine's 11.4 points per game output. The San Francisco native is one of the top three-point shooters in the AMC, as she has hit 46 trifectas, which is the second-most in the league.
For Harris-Stowe, they are led by post player Shanique Buford. The strong 5-11 forward averages a double-double on the year with her 20.8 ppg and 12.5 rpg output. The 2012-13 First-Team All-AMC selection has scored the most points in the league this season with 437 points, however, her scoring average is second-best in the conference. Buford, does however, led the league in rebounding with her 12.5 caroms per game average.
Buford is one of three players that are averaging double-digits in scoring, as the Lady Hornets are averaging 66.9 points per contest. Alexis Minner is one of those players, as she brings in a 14.4 scoring average and a team-best 91 assists into Thursday's game.
The Lady Hornets are a team that lacks depth, as they played only five players against William Woods in there last matchup back on Jan. 2.
The Owls collected the 81-59 victory in Anderson Arena on that day, but had to use a late rally to pull away from a tough Harris-Stowe squad. French and Quinnine combined for 30 points in that game, as the duo each had 15-point performance in the win.
Buford proved to be a handful for WWU on that day, as she posted a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. She was one of two Lady Hornet players to earn 20 points on the afternoon, as Minner tallied a game-best 24 points in the losing effort.
The Owls leads the all-time series against HSSU 60-9, and have won the last four meetings in the series.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
