COLUMBIA, Mo.— For the first in head coach
Dan Chapla's tenure and since the 2003-04 season, the (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team swept the regular season series against rival (RV) Columbia College, as the Owls defeated the Cougars 66-59 on Thursday night.
The Owls (21-7; 17-6 AMC), picked up its fifth consecutive win on 34.7 percent shooting from the floor and they were led by the duo of
Blake French and
Kennedy Volkart, as they netted a game-high 16 points each.
French, a St. Charles, Missouri, native, came up big at the free throw line, knocking in 10-of-12 chances, while adding seven rebounds and a game-high four assists. Volkart, meanwhile, shot 5-of-9 from the field, 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and added a career-high 15 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Julia Wells was next on the stat sheet, having eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while
Destani Stensrud added seven and
Kelsey Scherder contributed six points.
Columbia College (19-10; 15-8 AMC), was limited to 27.8 percent shooting from the floor and just 11.1 percent (3-of-27) from downtown. Aqua Corpening led CC with 14 points, while Corri Hamilton totaled 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting and grabbed down a game and career-high 16 rebounds.
Out of character, neither team shot well in the first half, as WWU went just 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from the field, while Columbia College shot 20.0 percent (8-of-40).
At the 12:32 mark,
Dennisha Rice cut the lead down to 10-7, after hitting her two point bucket in the paint. The Cougars would then stretch its advantage out to 16-9, after Hamilton made her second chance shot with 8:54 remaining.
WWU would respond with a quick 5-0 run in .39 seconds time, as Scherder's 3-pointer and Wells two point basket, put the team down 16-14. The Cougars would continue to maintain its advantage though, including stretching it out to 23-14 at the 4:59 mark, after Corpening made both of her free throws.
The Owls would stay in striking distance the rest of the half, as French went 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 1:29 remaining, which put the team down 28-22. Neither team was able to make a basket the final minute of play and at the end of 20:00 minutes of action, WWU trailed by six.
William Woods had three players with a total of four points, while Volkart was the leading rebounder, having six. CC was led by Hamilton already having a double-double, as she totaled 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Like they have on numerous occasions this year, the Owls got things going to start out the second half, as they rattled off a 10-2 run in three minutes and 49 seconds, capped off by Volkart making both of her free throws, which gave the team a 32-30 lead.
At the 13:24 mark, Volkart would give the Owls some breathing room, as she drained her two point shot, off an assist from French, to extend the lead to 38-33.
Just six minutes later, the Owls were up 48-42, after French made her two point shot, but Columbia would go on a 6-0 run in three minutes, capped off by Kayla Washington's two point basket, which tied the game up at 48-48, with 4:52 left in regulation.
Stensrud would give the Owls the lead back on its next possession at 50-48, as she made both of her free throws, after being fouled on her shot attempt.
Free throw success was big for WWU in the last four minutes of play, as the final 16 points they scored, 12 of them came from the charity stripe.
After French made both of her free throw shots with 1:11 left on the clock, Corpening drained a long 3-pointer on CC's next possession, which cut the lead down to 59-57. Scherder and French, however, would seal the game for WWU, as they combined to go a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line and give the Owls an important seven point win.
WWU shot a much improved 48.0 percent from the field in the second half, while they got to the free throw line 23 times, making 20 of its attempts.
With the win, the Owls have all but sealed up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming AMC Tournament, which will begin on March 4
th for William Woods, as the top four seeds earn a first round bye.
The team will look to close out the season on a high-note, as they search for its sixth win in a row on Saturday afternoon against Missouri Baptist University. Tipoff will start at 2 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview of Saturday's action from St. Louis.
