FULTON, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team collected its season-high eighth win in a row on Saturday afternoon, the Owls were able to fend off Williams Baptist College with a 71-64 victory.
The Owls (16-5; 12-4 AMC), didn't shoot the ball particularly well in the outing against the Lady Eagles (8-13; 7-9 AMC), as they finished with a field goal percentage of 32.8, but still had three players reach double-figures in points.
"I give Williams Baptist credit, as they were 11-of-19 from three and a lot of those shots were contested," said head coach
Dan Chapla. "They zoned us for most of the game and I thought we had a lot of wide open looks, but we still hit just enough shots to get the win."
Leading the way was senior
Blake French, as the St. Charles, Missouri, native, scored a game-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while adding seven rebounds.
"Blake's motor is just outstanding, as she just never quits and I am really proud of her," Chapla said. "She is 5 feet 6 inches, 100 pounds soaking wet and she got seven rebounds, which just shows effort. I thought she kept a couple possessions alive, including one each in the first and second half, so I thought she played outstanding."
Junior transfer
Nia Lateju recorded 14 points and eight boards, while
Dennisha Rice added 10 points and four assists. Senior guard
Destani Stensrud contributed nine points and a season-high seven assists, while
Kennedy Volkart added a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with four points.
Also, having a strong game in coach Chapla's mind was junior
Julia Wells, who finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists. "I thought Julia played the best game of her year so far, as she gave us some great defensive stops and her activity helped out, so I was glad for her."
Williams Baptist, meanwhile, shot 43.3 percent from the floor and 57.9 percent from downtown. They were led by Alisha Stone, as she netted a team-high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Jasmine Ford contributed 12 points and six rebounds, while Porche Hall snagged down a team-high 10 boards. Â
In the first half, after seeing its five point lead cut to three (20-17) at the 7:06 mark, the Owls offense and defense took over the next three minutes of play, as they rattled off an 11-0 run, capped off by Lateju draining a 3-pointer, which put WWU up 31-17.
The Lady Eagles, however, continued to battle as the clock continued to tick down and they were able to respond with an 11-3 run of its own, as Stone netted a two-pointer with .27 seconds left, which put WBC down only 34-28 at the half.
William Woods was held to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half, but Lateju paced the offense with nine points. WBC shot 48.0 percent from the floor and were led by Stone's nine points, while they also outrebounded the Owls, 25-12 through the first 20:00 minutes of play.
In the second half, the Owls took a 37-33 lead at the 18:56 mark, after Rice hit a 3-pointer, but WBC came back with a 5-1 run, capped off by Da'Monique Brown's two point bucket in the paint, which gave the Lady Eagles a 38-37 lead.
The senior duo of Stensrud and French got the lead right back for the Owls though, as Stensrud came up with a steal and French was able to capitalize with a two-pointer, giving WWU a 39-38 advantage.
WBC was able to retake the lead yet again, after Danesha Dillard hit a 3-pointer at the 14:54 mark, giving them a 41-39 lead. They would continue to hold onto its lead until the 12:33 mark, as
Kelsey Scherder drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Stensrud, which put WWU back up, 46-45.
After that bucket, the momentum swung back to WWU, as for the next seven minutes, the Owls were able to stretch its lead out to 12 points (63-51), after Wells collected an offensive rebound and made the put-back at the 5:33 mark.
The Lady Eagles, would narrow the deficit down to seven on four different occasions the final five minutes of play, but that was as close as they would get, as WWU held on for the seven point victory.
The Owls got to the line 20 times in the second half, making 14, compare to getting onto the charity stripe just three times in the first half.
The tough second half schedule will continue for the Owls next week, as they will travel on the road to face No. 20-ranked Lyon College on Thursday February 5
th. Tipoff will start at 5:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com next week for a full preview of Thursday's action.
