FULTON, Mo.— The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team has advanced to the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Semifinals, as the Owls were able to hang on in another thrilling game against Park University on Wednesday night, winning 66-61.
The Owls (23-7; 18-6 AMC), shot 54.1 percent from the field and 88.0 percent against the Pirates (16-13; 14-10 AMC). The team was led by senior
Blake French, as the St. Charles, Missouri, native, tied her career-high with 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting, went 7-of-7 from the free throw line and added four assists.
Junior transfer
Marissa Webb came up big for WWU, as she netted 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while
Kelsey Scherder and
Kennedy Volkart contributed eight points each.
Nia Lateju, netted seven points, while
Destani Stensrud and
Julia Wells totaled five points apiece.
The Owls won the rebounding battle against the Pirates, but the team totaled 28 turnovers, as Park picked up its defensive press right out of the gate in the second half.
"We made enough plays down the stretch to get the victory," said head coach
Dan Chapla. "All we talked about at halftime was for them (Park) to get back into the game, we would have to turn the ball over. That's how Park plays, that's how they have had success the last month and I credit them for their athleticism and fighting to stay in it and give themselves a chance, but we were lucky to hang on."
Park, meanwhile, shot 41.1 percent from the floor in the outing and were led by leading scorer Channell Mackey, netting a team-high 17 points on 6-of-25 shooting. Jordan Brown totaled 14 points, while Latice Butler just missed the double-double, having eight points and a game-high 11 boards.
One of the things coach Chapla would have liked to see from his team out of the gate, was a fast start, and the team did just that, taking a 17-9 lead at the 11:09 mark, after Webb drained her 3-pointer, off an assist from French.
The Owls would stretch its lead out to 12 points (22-10) with 8:23 remaining, after Scherder made her two point basket. Then, six minutes later, Mackey's two made free throws, would narrow the lead to 30-21 and then a 3-pointer from Brown at the 1:44 mark, would put the Pirates down 30-24.
Webb would respond for WWU with a two point basket to make it 32-24, and the Owls were able maintain that eight point advantage the final minute of the half and head into the locker room, up 34-26.
The Owls shot 57.1 percent from the field through the first 20:00 minutes of play and were led by French's 10 points and three assists. Park, however, was held to a 21.9 field goal percentage, with Brown leading the way with nine points.
"I was really pleased the way we shared the ball in the first half and overall tonight," said Chapla. "We shot over 50.0 percent in the first half, compared to 29.0 percent we shot in the game against them the last time out. We knew they were going to come in and throw a bunch of stuff on us and I thought for the first 13:00 minutes of the half we handled it for the most part, but we still struggled a little bit, as we are trying to find a combination."
In the second half, with 11:50 left to go in regulation, Lateju would go 1-of-2 from the free throw line, which gave the Owls a 48-34 lead.
The team would continue to maintain its double-digit advantage until the 5:14 mark, after Butler made both of her free throw attempts to make it 56-48 WWU. At the 3:03 mark, a second chance bucket by Amanda Laurenceau would narrow the lead down to just four (58-54).
William Woods was still able to hold onto its marginal lead, as French would make both of her free throw attempts with .25 seconds left, to extend the teams' lead back out to 62-56. Park, continued to fight though, as on its next possession, Mackey would drain her 3-pointer, which put the scoreboard at 62-59 WWU.
Stensrud would make it a two possession game at 64-59 with .17 seconds remaining, as she made both of her free throws and French would follow her up with two more free throws with .08 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach, as the Owls held on in another wild one against the Pirates, 66-61.
Despite turning the ball over 19 times in the second half, WWU shot 50.0 percent from the floor and continued to make it count late in the game from the charity stripe, knocking in 15 of its 16 attempts.
With the win, the Owls will now face the winner of the No. 7-seeded Harris-Stowe State Hornets and the No. 2-seeeded Lyon College Scots on Saturday. The game was originally scheduled to be played tonight, but due to the weather down in Arkansas, the game was postponed until tomorrow.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com later this week for a full preview of who and where the Owls will play next in the AMC Tournament Semifinals.
