Story written by Sports Information student worker Hannah Campbell

FULTON, Mo.— The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team put on an impressive show in their home opener Tuesday night, as the Owls defeated Tabor College, 64-48.

The Owls (1-0), finished the game shooting 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the floor, 50 percent (8-of-16) from downtown and 70 percent (14-of-20) from the charity stripe.  

The team had three players score in double digits and were led by Kennedy Volkart, as the junior scored a game-high 18 points, going 8-of-9 on the free throw line and grabbed a total of eight rebounds.

Kelsey Scherder was next on the stat sheet as the junior added 13 points going 4-of-6 from the three point line, while Nia Lateju racked on another 11 points and Marissa Webb ended the night with six.

Meanwhile, No.9- ranked Tabor, shot 30.2 percent from the floor and 63.6 from the free throw line. The team was led by both Jurnee Reid and Morgan Ediger, who each added eight points to the board, while Ali Nakvinda also contributed six points and grabbed four rebounds.

In the first quarter the Owls jumped to a quick start as they took a seven point lead in the first three minutes, led by Lateju who put in a field goal, two free throws and a shot from downtown. Tabor responded quickly and gave the Owls some competition to end the quarter with a score of 18-16, in the Owls favor. WWU shot 80 percent from the three-point line in the first quarter, knocking in four out of their five attempts.

Offense would come alive for WWU in the second quarter as the team got the second frame started by a two point paint shot from freshmen Bailey Rollins, followed shortly by a downtown shot from senior Julia Wells, which would stretch the team's lead out to 14 points. The Owls were given eight chances at the charity strip and knocked in seven, going nearly perfect from the line. The team dominated the quarter shooting 50 percent from the floor while limiting Tabor to just 3-of-16 from the field, giving WWU the momentum, going into half time leading Tabor 41-27.

Coming out of half time momentum slowed for both teams. At the 2:48 minute mark,  Webb grabbed an offensive rebound and put back, followed shortly after by a drained three pointer from Scherder to extend the Owls lead to 20 points. They kept the 20 point lead (53-33) going into the fourth quarter. While holding Tabor to shooting only a 10 percent from the floor.

WWU never slowed speed going into the fourth quarter and kept the Blue Jays at a safe distance. The Owls dominated the rest of the game in the rebound category, 48 to Tabor College's 26,  while Wells collected a game-high(nine).

The Owls went on to defeat the Blue Jays by 16 points, securing their home opener with a completed score, 64-48.

The Owls will return to the court Friday in Columbia, Mo. against Brescia University in the Cougar Classic. Tip-off will start at 1:00 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com later this week for a full preview of the games this weekend during the Cougar Classic. 

Tweet ##Owls_WBB