MARSHALL, Mo, - The William Woods University women's basketball team defeated Missouri Valley College 74-53 in dominating fashion on Monday night, to start its three game week with the first victory.
The Owls (7-2; 2-2 AMC), needed this game to get its momentum going for the week, as WWU did just that by controlling the game from the tip-off and never looked back. It was the Vikings to hit a three pointer in the first minutes of the game, however, the Owls responded by putting together a 10-1 lead, taking a 10-4 early lead in the first quarter..
Then with two minutes remaining in the first frame,
Kelsey Scherder extended the Owls lead out to nine, after sinking a three pointer, giving WWU the 15-6 lead.
In the second quarter MVC cut the Owls lead down to seven (21-14) at the 4:19 mark, after Ashley Ward hit one-of-two of her free throws, but next trip down Scherder answered by nailing her second three pointer of the night, putting the Owls up 24-14.
Less than two minutes left in the first half, the Owls pushed its lead out to double digits with a two point basket from freshman
Bailey Rollins, although MVC was able to convert two free throws as the clock was winding down, making the score 31-20 at the completion of the first 20:00 minutes of play in the Owls favor.
William Woods went 11-of-29 from the field, shooting 37.9 percent, while going 4-of-15 from beyond the line and shooting 71.4 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Vikings were just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from the floor and 2-of-8 from three point line.
Coming out of half time, the Owls picked up right where they left off, as senior
Marissa Webb got into the action by nailing a three pointer, giving WWU the commanding 38-22 lead.
Three minutes later, Rollins also hit a three point shot, off an assist from
April Gebke, which put the Owls ahead 57-32. The team was able to maintain its breathing room from the Vikings the rest of the quarter and headed into he fourth, up by 25 points.
After outscoring MVC 32-18 in the third quarter, the Owls were able to hold onto its 20-plus point advantage in the final frame, as Gebke knocked down two free throws, pushing WWU out to its largest lead of the game at 65-38 with 8:00 minutes remaining in regulation. The Owls were able to put the game away from then on and secure the 21-point victory over the Vikings.
William Woods finished the game shooting 41.9 percent from the floor and was 6-of-11 (38.5 percent) from downtown, while MVC shot 28.7 percent from the field and just 22.3 percent from three point line.
It was a very evenly distributed game for the Owls, as every player that checked in the game contributed one way or another.
Scherder paced the way with 11 points, as she shot 50.0 percent from both the field (4-for-8) and three point line (2-of-4).
Kendra Vernatti was the other Owl to end the night in double digits, as the senior recorded 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, while freshman
Kailey Morris had a break out night, posting a season-high nine points in just four minutes of play.
Then five Owls ended the night with eight points , which included
Nia Lateju,
Kennedy Volkart,
April Gebke,
Marissa Webb and
Bailey Rollins. Volkart also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, which all came on the defensive side.
The Owls return to action on Thursday, while the team gets back to conference play inside Anderson Arena, as Hannibal-LaGrange University comes to town. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and score on Thursday night.
