FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University women's basketball team pulled off a huge upset in front of a capacity crowd on Thursday night, as the Owls defeated No. 23-ranked Columbia College, 84-72.
The Owls (11-5; 7-4 AMC), finished the game shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from downtown and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
The team had four players reach double-figures and were led by
Dennisha Rice's game and career-high 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while also going 4-of-6 from downtown and 8-of-10 from the charity-stripe.
"I thought she picked a great time to have a career night," said head coach
Dan Chapla. "The thing with Dennisha is she can score, as she has shown flashes of that and sometimes kids go down during the year, so other players get to play a little more with more freedom, and I thought she stepped up in the second half and made some shots for us. She and Blake both came up big tonight."
Senior
Blake French had another strong game, having 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, while
Kennedy Volkart and
Marissa Webb each added 10 points.
Columbia (12-5; 8-3 AMC), meanwhile, shot 36.6 percent from the field and were led by Corri Hamilton scoring 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting off the bench. Ashley Fisher and Aqua Corpening both contributed 15 points as well.
In the first half, the Owls jumped out to a fast start, as they took a 23-13 lead at the 11:16 mark, after French made a 3-pointer off a Cougars turnover. The team would continue its hot shooting as the clock continued to tick down and they were able to extend its advantage out to 19 points (41-22), its largest of the half, at the 4:09 mark.
The Cougars would close out the half on an 8-2 run, but the Owls were able to still head into the locker room up 43-30.
The team shot 45.2 percent from the floor through the first 20:00 minutes of play, while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Cougars, 23-14.
"It's nice to see us get out to a quick start," said Chapla. "I just think our kids were focused, as I challenged them because we hadn't beaten anybody above us in the conference standings yet. They responded and really stepped up to the plate, so I am proud of them, and it got a little scary at the end, but our freshman came off the bench and gave us great minutes."
In the second half, the Owls continued to keep rolling, as they extended its lead to its largest of the game, at 54-31, after
Paige Stewart made a two-point basket in the paint, at the 16:32 mark.
Over the next three minutes, however, Columbia got themselves and the visiting crowd back into the game, as they went on an 11-0 run, capped off by Caprese Marshall's 3-pointer off a turnover, which cut the deficit down to 54-43 at the 13:17 mark.
William Woods would gain some breathing room back at 62-45, after Rice drained another 3-pointer, but Columbia continued to battle and were able to narrow the Owls lead down to just 65-56 at the 7:51 mark, after Kei'yana Pearson scored a two-pointer in the paint.
The Owls would get its double-digit lead back with 5:36 left in regulation, after French made a two point bucket, putting the score at 69-58. From then on, the teams' offense and defense stepped up and WWU was able to hold on for the 12-point win.
"I just hope this win gives us some confidence to come out and play the rest of the year," said Chapla. "I've been talking to our players about selling out for 40:00 minutes and we've done that the last couple games. We certainly had a wake-up call last week, but it's part of the ups and downs of the season, as I don't think we are the team we can be, but there is room to get better."
The Owls will return to the court on Saturday afternoon, as the team welcome's Missouri Baptist University to Anderson Arena. Tipoff will start at 2 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview of Saturday's action.
