HENDERSON, Tenn.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team dropped its second consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, as the Owls fell to No. 1-ranked Freed-Hardeman University, 70-55.
The Owls (16-7; 12-6 AMC), shot 40.4 percent from the floor against the Lady Lions (23-1; 18-0 AMC), and they were led by sophomore
Kennedy Volkart's team-high 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field.
Junior
Nia Lateju was the final Owl to score in double-figures, as the Norwalk, California, native, posted 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting and added a team-high six rebounds. Senior
Blake French scored nine points and dished out a team-high three assists, while
Destani Stensrud contributed six points.
FHU, shot 44.4 percent from the floor and were led by Hayley Newby, who was dominant all afternoon, scoring a career-high 35 points on 17-of-26 shooting and grabbed down 14 rebounds. Grace Alonso de Armino also recorded herself a double-double, totaling 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Taleeah Cross scored nine points, while Paige Melville added seven.
In the first two minutes and 15 seconds of play, the two teams' tied three different times, as Volkart's two point bucket at the 17:45 mark, tied the game up at 7-7.
Then, the Lady Lions were able to put some distance between themselves and the Owls, as they went on a 12-2 run, capped off by a two point basket by Cross at the 13:21 mark, which put FHU up 19-9.
William Woods responded right away, as on its next possession, Lateju drained a 3-pointer off an assist from French, putting the score at 19-12, but over the next 10:00 minutes of play, FHU's offense could not be slowed down, as they pushed its advantage out to 33-19 with 3:49 left in the half, after Newby made her two point shot.
William Woods was able to close out the half on a 4-0 run, as the team got buckets from Stensrud and French, which put the Owls down just 33-23 heading into halftime.
WWU shot 34.5 percent from the floor in the first half and were led by Volkart's 10 points, while FHU shot 47.1 percent, with Newby already totaling 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Owls started out the second half with two quick baskets, as Lateju made her two point shot off an assist from Stensrud just .27 seconds in, then one minute later, Lateju again made another two-pointer, which put the team down 33-27, with 18:24 to go in regulation.
Over the next four minutes, however, the Lady Lions went on a 10-2 run, capped off a two point basket by Alonso de Armino, putting FHU up 43-29 at the 14:06 mark. The team stretched its advantage out to 25 points (65-40) at the 5:18 mark, after Newby made her two-pointer.
The Owls would continue to battle, as they closed out the game on a 15-5 run, but the deficit proved to be too much, as WWU fell by 15 points.
WWU shot 47.8 percent from the field in the second half, while FHU shot 42.1 percent, but the difference in the game was on the boards, as the Lady Lions outrebounded the Owls, 47-21.
William Woods will have another tough test in its next time out, as they will take on Lindenwood University-Belleville inside Anderson Arena on February 14
th. Tipoff will start at 2 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com next week for a full preview of Saturday's action.
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