FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University women's basketball suffered a tough loss on Saturday afternoon, as the Owls fell 62-58, against No. 5-ranked College of the Ozarks.
The Owls (8-3; 3-2 AMC), had a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bobcats (11-1), caught fire in the final frame, outscoring WWU 23-12 and were able to hang on for the four-point win.
William Woods, shot 36.2 percent from the floor and were led by
Julia Wells and
Nia Lateju, who each netted 13 points and combined for 15 boards.
Kennedy Volkart totaled 10 points and seven rebounds, while
April Gebke totaled eight points and a team-high five assists.
Kendra Vernatti and
Kelsey Scherder, meanwhile, contributed seven points each.
The Lady Bobcats, shot 34.8 percent from the field, but like the Owls, they too didn't shoot the ball particularly well from downtown, as the two teams' combined to go 5-of-35.
Leading scorer Brandy Uchtman earned herself a double-double, scoring a game-high 18 points and totaling 11 boards. Maison Bovard went 6-of-11 from the field to finish with 15 points, while Shelby Roberts ended the outing with 10. Kelsie Cleeton, didn't score a point in 26:00 minutes of action, but did snatch down 10 rebounds, all on the defensive side of the glass and added five assists.
In the first quarter, the Lady Bobcats jumped out to an 11-6 lead, after Bovard made her two-pointer. The Owls would respond over the next three minutes, as they tied the game up at 11-all, with 2:25 left, after Scherder drained a 3-pointer, off an assist from
Marissa Webb.
The two teams' would meet up at 13-13, the fifth tie already in the first, but then, Brethower would earn the old-fashioned three point play with .27 seconds left, which gave COFO, a 16-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Owls shot 37.5 percent in the first and held a rebounding advantage of 13-10. Scherder paced the team with five points, while for COFO, they owned a field goal percentage of 35.0 and were led by Uchtman's four points.
In the second quarter, the Lady Bocats, went on a 6-1 run, capped off by Hannah Wisdom's second chance bucket, which put them ahead 22-14, with 7:06 left in the half.
William Woods, would counter with a run of its own, as over the next four minutes, WWU outscored COFO, 9-0, with Volkart's two-pointer at the 3:40 mark, giving the Owls its lead back at 23-22.
The Owls would maintain its marginal lead until the final horn sounded and they were able to head into halftime, up 30-29. Volkart finished the first half with eight points, while Uchtman was already near her double-double, totaling seven points and eight rebounds.
After losing its lead on a Maggie McMenamy bucket at the 7:10 mark, to give the Lady Bobcats a 35-34 lead, the Owls would get the one point advantage back less than a minute later, after Wells scored in the paint.
It was all William Woods the rest of the quarter, as they closed out on a 10-4 run, with Lateju scoring her two-pointer, off an assist from Webb, to extend the Owls lead out to 46-39, through three quarters of action.
Things changed, however, in the fourth, as in three minutes, COFO, went on a 9-0 run, with Uchtman's two-pointer giving the Lady Bobcats a 48-46 lead.
Two possessions later, the Owls would take the lead back, as Gebke drove to the basket, scored and got fouled. She went on to drain her free throw and give WWU a 49-48 advantage.
The Owls would continue to hold its lead, up until the 3:21 mark, when Bovard scored in the paint, and tied up the game at 54-54.
They would meet up at 56-56, the 10
th tie in the game, with 1:35 remaining, after Gebke made her two point shot in the paint. COFO, however, would come down the court .13 seconds later and Uchtman drained her 3-pointer, which gave them a 59-56 lead.
Despite the Owls narrowing it down to two (60-58), with .09 seconds left, after Vernatti made her basket, Shelby Roberts put the game away, making both free throws and securing the four-point win over WWU.
The team will return to action on Wednesday, December 30
th, in an exhibition game on the road against Southeast Missouri State. Tip-off will start at 11 a.m., from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Owls next regular season game will be on New Year's Eve, as they host St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Tip-off for that will start at 12 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com throughout the 2015-16 season for full previews and recaps on the women's basketball team.
