Box Score
FULTON, Mo. -- Senior guard Katie Scherder turned in a performance for the record books on Saturday afternoon, as she broke the William Woods University women's basketball single-game record for rebounds by grabbing 25 caroms to help the Owls defeat Park University, 71-64, at Anderson Arena.
Scherder's rebounding performance this afternoon ties her for the most in a game by a NAIA player this season, and is the most by an American Midwest Conference player during the 2013-14 campaign. The 5-11 guard surpasses former Owl great and teammate Rachel Baker's previous single-game rebounding record of 20 rebounds, set back on Jan. 22, 2009 against Columbia College.
Head Coach Dan Chapla had nothing but good things to say about his senior after his team picked up a big win to move them into fourth place in the AMC standings.
"Katie has been just an absolutely phenomenal rebounder for us her entire career. She was nothing short of spectacular today, she went after every defensive rebound and helped us limit Park to a lot of one-and-done possessions. She also hit some key shots for us, and that's what you expect from a senior, and she played that way today."
Scherder wasn't fully aware of her accomplishment till after the game, but once she realized what she had just done she was very appreciative and thankful for the performance.
"I didn't honestly realize I had that many rebounds after the game," the senior said. "Coach said I had 19 second half defensive rebounds, and I thought I had a total of at least 10. It's a great honor to see my name in the record book now, and I'm going to have to text Rachel (Baker) after the game and let her know I took her record. I loved playing with her, she was a great teammate, and to be mentioned in the same category as her is an honor within itself."
Not only did Scherder perform well on the glass, but she was also an offensive force on the afternoon by scoring a season-high 22 points. She was one of three William Woods (16-7; 9-6 AMC) players to record double-digits on the day.
"Katie stepped up and was a senior today," said Chapla. "I'm really proud of her. She hit a big three in the second half to break a tie and it was good to see her have such a strong offensive showing. She does so many great things for us, and what she did today was phenomenal, as she collected five more rebounds in a game than arguably one of the best players to ever put on an Owls uniform. I'm just really happy for her and she earned it."
William Woods found itself in a fight all afternoon against a pesky Park University (10-10; 8-6 AMC) team that seemed to respond to every Owls run. The game featured 10 ties and four lead changes, and neither team held a lead of more than nine points in the contest.
"We were very resilient this afternoon," Chapla said of his team. "We would get some late leads, and credit Park for fighting right back. I thought Andraquay Quinnine and obviously Katie, were big for us down the stretch, but it was really a great team win. We turned it over 26 times this afternoon, but were still able to find a way to win and that's a credit to our defense and rebounding."
Neither team could gain much of an advantage in the first half, as they were knotted at 26-26 entering the locker room.
Out of the break, a Quinnine three-pointer would snap a 28-28 tie, and sparked a 9-0 run to give William Woods a 37-28 lead.
Park University answered that run with an 8-0 streak of its own to pull back within one point at 37-36 with 14:23 remaining in the game.
Blake French's third old-fashion three-point-play of the half gave WWU a 40-36 advantage, but once again the Lady Pirates chipped away and brought its deficit back to one at 40-39 after a Lauren LaBonde trifecta.
A Channell Mackey steal and basket gave the Lady Pirates a brief 41-40 advantage, but Scherder asserted herself and went on a personal 8-1 run to give her team a 48-42 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Owls pushed its lead back to nine points after Quinnine's third three-pointer of the half to force a PU timeout. Yet again, the Lady Pirates would not back down and tied the game at 60-60 at the 4:57 mark.
It would be a short-lived tie, a Scherder knocked down a critical shot from behind the arc to give her team the 63-60 advantage with 3:21 on the clock.
The Lady Pirates had one run left in them, as LaBonde's third trifecta of the game tied the game back up at 64-64, however, William Woods was able to hit free throws and force turnovers over the game's final 1:40 to secure a hard-fought 71-64 win.
Quinnine registered 17 points in the win on 4-of-8 from behind the arc, and Blake French continued her impressive play of late by chipping in 16 points.
Mackey led a trio of double-digit scorers for Park University, as the junior collected a game-high 25 points.
The win helped William Woods move ahead of the Lady Pirates in the standings, as they now are in fourth place by a half game.
WWU will wrap-up its two-game home stand on Thursday night, as they host Lyon College in another critical AMC contest. Chapla is aware of the importance of this game, not only in terms of standings, but in gaining confidence for his team during the remainder of the season.
"Lyon is in the third spot in the conference, and nobody but Freed-Hardeman and Columbia College has beat them this season. They got us down at their place earlier this season, we played with them for about 30 minutes, but there was a 10 minute stretch where we didn't play well, and it cost us the game. We are going to have to scrap and fight to win, we have to find a way. I've been telling our kids for the last two weeks that every game from here on out is important, and Thursday will be a big step for us if we can get that win."
Tip-off for Thursday's contest is set for 5:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full preview and recap of this and every game during the 2013-14 season.
