FULTON, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start on Tuesday night, as the Owls fell to Harris-Stowe State University, 69-62, inside Anderson Arena.
The Owls (8-5; 4-4 AMC), shot 35.9 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from downtown and 53.3 percent from the free throw line.
Blake French led the Owls on the night, scoring a team-high 15 points off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting. Junior
Nia Lateju added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while
Kennedy Volkart contributed 11 points and eight boards.
Harris-Stowe (5-7; 4-4 AMC), shot 41.9 percent in the game and were led by reigning American Midwest Conference (AMC) Player of the Week, Mia Wesley, as she scored a career-high 31 points on 13-of-30 shooting from the field. Leah Hamilton added 11 points, while Dyneshia Powell totaled nine.
Lorraine Pitchford just missed a double-double, having eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Kyera Smith also added eight points.
William Woods trotted out a new starting five against the Hornets, as
Karinne Lane,
Veronica Jones,
Nikki Callahan,
Lindsey Cornelius and
Rachael Ostrem all got an opportunity in front of the home crowd.
In the first half, however, it was the Hornets jumping out to the advantage, as HSSU held a 19-11 lead at the 7:47 mark, after Wesley scored a two-pointer off an Owls turnover. The Hornets were able to extend its lead over WWU out to 11 at the 2:35 mark, as Jalessa Mitchel's two point basket, gave HSSU a 27-16 lead.
French responded with a bucket of her own on the teams' next possession, cutting the lead down to nine, but Harris-Stowe went on to score twice, getting two point buckets from Powell and Wesley, which allowed the Hornets to head into the locker room up 31-18 on the Owls.
WWU had a cold shooting first half, as they went 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the floor and were led by French, totaling nine points. HSSU, meanwhile, shot 38.2 percent and Wesley was nearly unstoppable in the half, totaling 17 points.
In the second half, the Hornets continued to shock the Owls, as they pushed its lead out to 19 points at the 12:15 mark, after Wesley made a two point basket off a turnover, making it a 45-26 game.
Trailing 51-38 at the 8:52 mark, the Owls needed to get something going and they did, as
Paige Stewart drained a three-pointer, cutting the lead down to 10, with 8:38 remaining. Then, after forcing a turnover,
Destani Stensrud went coast-to-coast, making her two point shot, which cut the Hornets lead down to eight points (51-43).
The team would continue to chip away at the lead, as after Lateju went 1-of-2 from the free throw line,
Dennisha Rice made a three-pointer off a Hornet turnover, which put the Owls down by just four, at 51-47 at the 6:28 mark, which capped off a 9-0 run.
HSSU would respond with a 5-0 run, as Pitchford went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, which gave the Hornets some breathing back at 56-47, with 5:01 left on the clock. WWU, however, would crawl right back into it, as they answered with a 5-0 run of its own, capped off by Stewart's two-pointer in the paint, which put the Owls down only 56-52.
A 6-0 run over the next minute by the Hornets, however, did the Owls in, as they took a 62-52 lead, after Wesley made her two point shot. WWU would cut the advantage down to five points on two different occasions, but that would be as close as they would get, with the Hornets holding on for the seven point win.
William Woods showed much more success from the floor in the second half, as they shot 44.4 percent and 42.9 percent from the three point arc.
The Owls will look to snap its four game skid on Thursday again in front of the home fans, as they host St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Tipoff will start at 5:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview of Thursday's action.
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