Box Score ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team was able to squeak past Harris-Stowe State University on Tuesday night, as the Owls defeated the Hornets 76-70.
The Owls (18-7; 14-6 AMC), finished the outing shooting 40.3 percent from the floor and were led by senior
Blake French, as the St. Charles, Missouri, native, tied her career-high with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field.
Marissa Webb posted a strong game off the bench, as the junior netted a career-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting and totaled a game-high eight rebounds. Another junior,
Nia Lateju, scored 13 points on 50 percent shooting (5-of-10) and totaled six rebounds.
Julia Wells added seven points and six boards,
Dennisha Rice contributed six, while
Kelsey Scherder and
Destani Stensrud added five points each.
Harris-Stowe State (10-14; 9-11 AMC), meanwhile, shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from the charity stripe. Leading scorer Mia Wesley paced the Hornet offense, scoring a team-high 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
KeAris Vaughn totaled 17 points, including going 5-of-8 from the three point arc, while Alexis Minner scored 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.
The difference in the game in the win for the Owls was on the boards, as they outrebounded the Hornets 44-23 and totaled 23 second chance points, while HSSU had zero.
In the first half, the Owls did not get off to the start they would have liked through the first two minutes of play, as the Hornets jumped out to a 9-2 advantage, after Lorraine Pitchford made her two point layup.
The Owls would get its offense going as the half went on and at the 10:37 mark,
Kelsey Scherder tied the game up at 17-17, after draining a 3-pointer off an assist from Webb. WWU would take its first lead of the half on its next possession, as French hit her layup, which put the team up 19-17.
The Hornets, however, would go on a 5-0 run and take a 22-21 lead, capped off by Wesley hitting her 3-pointer off an assist from Shanique Buford at the 8:38 mark.
The Owls would respond with an 8-0 run of its own over the next two minutes of action, as Rice went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, which put them up 29-22 with 6:25 remaining in the first half. Those final six minutes belonged to the Hornets though, as they closed out the final minutes of play on an 11-2 run, as Dyneshia Powell hit her two point shot with .16 seconds left and sent the Hornets up 33-31 heading into the break.
William Woods was limited to 36.4 percent shooting in the first half, while the Hornets shot 53.8 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from downtown.
In the second half, the Hornets would continue to ride its momentum they gained at the end of the first half, as through the first four minutes of play, they went on a 10-4 run, with Vaughn connecting on her 3-pointer, which extended the teams' lead to 43-35.
In just three minutes time, however, the Owls would narrow the deficit back to one at the 12:57 mark, as French made her two point shot. Then, WWU would regain the lead just .38 seconds later, as Webb would hit her 3-pointer off a Hornet turnover and give them a 47-45 advantage.
The two teams' would be tied up again for the sixth time in the game at the 10:42 mark at 51-51, as Webb made both of her free throws for William Woods. HSSU would regain the lead on its next possession, as Wesley hit another 3-pointer, putting the Hornets up 54-51.
Harris-Stowe would maintain its lead for the next four minutes, until Wells earned the old-fashioned three point play, as her two point basket and free throw after the foul, gave the Owls a 60-58 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
The team would gain some breathing room at 65-58, after French made her two point layup, which forced the Hornets to take a timeout, after the quick run by the Owls offense.
The Hornets would not go away quietly, as they narrowed the Owls lead down to one (71-70), after Minner made both of her free throws with 1:21 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get, with WWU pulling away in the final seconds and going on for the six point win.
The team will look for its third win in a row on Thursday night, as they take on 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.
