ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team closed out the 2014-15 regular season on a six game winning streak, as the Owls flew past Missouri Baptist University on Saturday afternoon, winning 63-43.
The Owls (22-7; 18-6 AMC), shot 37.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from downtown in the outing and were led by junior
Nia Lateju, who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added a game-high three blocks.
Senior guard
Destani Stensrud added 10 points and two assists off the bench, while
Dennisha Rice and
Kennedy Volkart, contributed eight points each. Volkart had another strong game on the boards for William Woods, as the sophomore grabbed down a game-high 10.
Julia Wells totaled six points, while senior
Blake French and
Marissa Webb combined for 10 points and seven assists.
Missouri Baptist (8-20; 8-16 AMC), meanwhile, struggled from the floor, shooting just 25.0 percent. MBU was led by Jasmine Jackson, scoring a game-high 16 points and adding a team-high eight rebounds. Kennedy Smith netted eight points off the bench, while Mattie White contributed six.
It was all WWU through the first 20:00 minutes of play, as they shot 44.8 percent from the field, 41.7 percent beyond the three point arc and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, the Owls held the Spartans to just six made baskets on 35 attempts (17.1 percent).
In the first half, William Woods jumped out to a quick 14-4 advantage, after Webb made her two point shot, off an assist from French at the 12:18 mark.
The offense would continue rolling over the next five minutes of play, as a Stensrud 3-pointer would extend the teams' lead out to 27-11, with 7:07 left on the scoreboard. The Owls would close out the final seven minutes of play on a 9-2 run, capped off by Lateju making both of her free throw attempts with .16 seconds remaining, which sent WWU into the locker room, up 36-14.
Lateju led the way in the first half, scoring eight points, while Volkart totaled a team-high seven rebounds. The Owls dominated the boards against MBU, holding a 28-18 advantage.
In the second half, at the 16:45 mark, Lateju put the Owls up 40-16, after making her two point shot in the paint, off an assist from Webb. The Spartans, however, would get its offense going, as they would respond with a 12-5 run over the next four minutes of action, capped off by Jackson's two point basket, which narrowed the Owls lead down to 45-28.
An Aimee Iverson basket at the 8:12 mark would narrow the lead down to 51-36 for MBU, but WWU would go on an 8-0 run, as French's two point basket three minutes later, would extend the Owls lead back out to 23 points (59-36).
Over the final five minutes of regulation, William Woods was able to maintain its double-digit lead and go on for the 20-point win.
With the win, the Owls have locked up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament, which will begin on Monday March 2
nd. William Woods, being one of the top four seeds, has earned a first round bye and its first game will be on Wednesday March 4th at 7 p.m., against the winner of the No. 6/No. 11 game, which is Park University hosting St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com next week for a full preview of who the Owls will face in the AMC Quarterfinals.
