HANNIBAL, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team had four players score in double-figures on Thursday night, which allowed the Owls to win its seventh consecutive game against Hannibal-LaGrange University, as WWU held on for the 75-66 win.
The Owls (15-5; 11-4 AMC), shot 41.9 percent from the field on the night and were led by junior transfer
Nia Lateju, as the Norwalk, California, native, scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Sophomore
Kennedy Volkart displayed another strong outing, totaling 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added a team-high eight rebounds. Senior
Blake French, who came up with a big basket for the Owls late in the game, scored 15 points – including going 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while in her second game back from injury, senior
Destani Stensrud scored 12 points off the bench.
Hannibal-LaGrange (7-12; 7-8 AMC), shot 41.3 percent from the floor and were led by Morgan Winkler, scoring a career-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Ashleigh Hurd-Spencer, who came into the game averaging 21 points per game, was limited to 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting, but did grab down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Juliana Lopes Roberto was the final Lady Trojan to score in double-figures, as she went 3-of-5 from the field and finished with 10 points off the bench.
It was a cold start in the first half for both teams', but it was the Owls holding an 18-15 advantage at the 11:13 mark, after Lateju drained a 3-pointer off an assist from
Julia Wells.
As the clock continued to tick down, William Woods was still able to hold a marginal lead over HLG, including gaining a bit more breathing room with 4:13 left, after Volkart made her two point basket in the paint, which gave the Owls a 29-23 lead.
HLG, however, continued to battle, and with .48 seconds left in the half, they only trailed WWU 33-32, after Hurd-Spencer made her two point basket. Then, after Hurd-Spencer came up with a block with .09 seconds remaining, Winkler was able to drain a 3-pointer with .02 seconds on the scoreboard, giving the Lady Trojans a 35-33 lead heading into the break.
The Owls shot 41.2 percent (14-of-34) from the field through the first 20:00 minutes of play and were led by Volkart's 14 points and five boards. HLG shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33), outrebound the Owls 20-13 and were led by Winkler's 14 points, while Hurd-Spencer totaled nine rebounds.
In the second half, the Owls did not take long to gain its lead back, as after a two point miss by
Marissa Webb, French gathered the offensive board and scored the put-back, tying the game up at 35-35 just .16 seconds in.
Then, just a minute later, the team grabbed a two point lead (37-35), after
Dennisha Rice scored her two point shot in the paint at the 18:23 mark.
The two teams' would continue to go basket-for-basket, but at the 10:07 mark, Stensrud came up with a steal and was able to drain a big 3-pointer off an assist from Rice, which put the Owls ahead 52-47.
At the 5:52 mark, French made both of her free throw attempts, which put the Owls up 60-54, but HLG responded with a 5-0 run, capped off by Winkler making her two point shot, which cut William Woods lead down to one at 60-59, with 4:56 remaining in the game.
WWU didn't blink, however, as on its next possession, Stensrud came down the court and drained a 3-pointer, putting the Owls back up at 63-59.
With 2:50 left, the Owls were up 64-63, after Sarah Cline made a two point basket for HLG, but arguably the biggest basket of the game came from French, as the St. Charles, Missouri, native, connected on her two point basket in the paint and was fouled on the play, allowing her to earn the old-fashioned three point play, which gave the Owls a 67-63 lead.
WWU's defense stood tall the final two minutes of play, while the offense was able to connect on its necessary free throws and drain the clock down with ball movement, which allowed the Owls to go on for the hard fought nine point win.
The Owls shot 42.9 percent from the field in the second half, but got to the charity stripe 20 times, making 16 attempts, compared to the first half, when the team went 3-of-9 from the free throw line.
With the win, the Owls have tied its season-high with its seven consecutive win and they will look for its eighth win in a row on Saturday in front of the home crowd, as the team hosts Williams Baptist College. 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.
