FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University women's basketball team captured its first American Midwest Conference (AMC) victory of the season in dominating fashion, as the Owls soared past Central Baptist College 81-54 on Saturday afternoon.
 
After a heart breaking loss to the No.- 17 ranked Lyon College earlier this week, the Owls (5-1: 1-1 AMC), came into this first time conference match-up with newcomer, CBC to bounce back to its winning ways. WWU did just that, as the team controlled the game right from tip-off and never backed down.
 
In the first quarter, the Owls didn't take long to gain the momentum, as the team strung together a 10-0 run, giving them a 21-7 lead over the Mustangs, capped off by a two pointer form Kelsey Scherder.
 
WWU was able to extend its lead out to 17 (27-10) as the first quarter came to an end, holding CBC to just two field goals the whole entire first 10:00 minutes of play.
 
The Owls maintained to establish some breathing room from the Mustangs in the second quarter and keep its advantage in double-digits, after Kendra Vernatti showed great relentless, by grabbing an offensive board and recording two points for the put back, making the score 34-18.
 
CBC would then get things going offensively right before half time, as the Mustangs put together a 5-0 run of their own, cutting the Owls lead down to 11 with just under a minute until half time. Shortly after, Scherder would sink two free throws after an defensive foul on CBC to make the score 42-29, however, the Mustangs marched back down the court and drew a foul on WWU, earning them two shots from the charity stripe. Rachel Eitherington would convert on both and that would be how the first 20:00 minutes of play ended, as the Owls went into the locker room with the 11 point lead (42-31).
 
In the first half, the Owls shot 40.5 percent from the floor and 71.4 percent from the free throw line, while Scherder led the way with ten points. Meanwhile, CBC shot 33.3 percent from the field and what kept them in the game was their 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line,
 
In the third quarter, WWU was able to stretch its lead out to 57-37, after a two pointer from Kennedy Volkart, with just under 3:00 minutes left in the quarter. At the end of the quarter Volkart would hit another bucket, which put the Owls ahead 62-38, giving the team the 24 point lead heading into the fourth.
 
After outscoring the Mustangs 20-7, the Owls were able to put the game away in the fourth quarter, jumping out to its largest lead of the day at 29 and went on to secure the 81-54 win, grabbing its first AMC win.
 
William Woods ended the game, shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from the three point line and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Owls got contribution from all 14 players that checked into the game, as Vernatti led the way with 16 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, as Scherder added 12 points and Webb chipped in 11. Volkart, had a huge night on the boards, as the junior grabbed 11 rebounds, while adding eight points to her stat sheet.
 
The Owls will take a break from play during the thanksgiving break and will return to action on December 3^rd for a match-up with Missouri Baptist University at 5:30 p.m.
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a preview of this match-up.

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