ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team will look for its sixth win in a row on Saturday afternoon, as the Owls pay a visit to Missouri Baptist University in its final regular season game. Tipoff will start at 2 p.m.
The Owls (21-7; 17-6 AMC), all but locked up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament, after they swept the regular season series against (RV) Columbia College on Thursday night, as they defeated the Cougars, 66-59.
The victory extended the teams' winning streak to five in a row, while making it the first time since the 2003-04 season that the Owls have swept the regular season series against the Cougars.
William Woods earned the victory thanks in large part to the duo of
Blake French and
Kennedy Volkart, as they scored a game-high 16 points in the win. French, came up big towards the end of the game, knocking in needed free throws, which allowed her to finish 10-of-12 from the free throw line. The St. Charles, Missouri, native, chipped in seven rebounds and a game-high four assists as well.
Volkart, a Russellville, Missouri, native, was dominant against CC, as she went 5-of-9 from the field, 6-of-6 from the free throw line, totaled a career-high 15 rebounds and added five blocked shots.
Junior guard
Julia Wells had a strong game, totaling eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while
Destani Stensrud and
Kelsey Scherder contributed seven and six points respectively.
On the season, the Owls are scoring 70.6 points per game and shooting 40.8 percent from the field, while defensively, teams' are being held to 59.8 points on 37.7 percent shooting and have totaled 458 turnovers.
Nia Lateju, a Norwalk, California, native, is averaging a team-high 11.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting from the floor. The junior transfer is also hitting 37.0 percent of her shots from downtown, while tallying 150 rebounds and 12 blocked shots.
French, is shooting a team-high 49.8 percent from the field and 81.5 from the free throw line, while adding 55 assists and 43 assists to go along with her 11.7 point per game average. Volkart was able to up her season average to 9.9 points, while adding 176 rebounds and a team-high 29 blocks, which is fourth-best in the AMC.
Stensrud is fourth on the team in scoring (7.6 ppg), but has dished out a team-high 70 assists, while
Marissa Webb is averaging 7.1 points and has grabbed down 113 rebounds.
The Spartans (8-19; 8-15 AMC), will be looking for redemption against the Owls, as WWU defeated Missouri Baptist back on January 17
th, inside Anderson Arena, 68-50.
MBU snapped its two game skid in its last time out, as they defeated Stephens College 73-52 on Thursday. In the outing, the Spartans shot 45.3 percent from the floor and were led by Cherish Walton scoring a career-high 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Aimee Iverson netted 13 points and handed out a game-high six assists, while Morgan Settle and Jasmine Jackson totaled 11 and 10 points apiece.
On the season, Missouri Baptist is scoring 62.6 points on 41.4 percent shooting from the floor and are led by Taylor Klingelhoefer's 13.2 point per game average. Jerica Hawkins is second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 points on 44.2 percent shooting and has added 106 rebounds, which is second-best on the team.
Settle leads the team in rebounds (124) and blocked shots (38), while posting 8.8 points per game and shooting 45.0 percent from the field. Iverson, meanwhile, is averaging 6.8 points, but leads the team in assists (79).
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from St. Louis, Missouri.
