BATESVILLE, Ark.—The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team saw its American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament run come to a close on Saturday night, as the Owls fell to No. 16-ranked Lyon College in the AMC Semifinals, 65-46.
The Owls (23-8; 18-6 AMC), shot 36.7 percent from the floor in the outing, but went cold from downtown, going just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. Leading the way offensively was sophomore
Kennedy Volkart, as she netted a team-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed down eight rebounds.
Senior
Blake French contributed nine points, while
Marissa Webb and
Julia Wells totaled seven and five points respectively.
Lyon College (27-5; 21-3 AMC), shot 46.2 percent from the field and were able to win the battle of the boards against the Owls, 38-25. The Scots had four of its starters reach double-figures in points, led by Taylor Gaedtke's game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Carina Jackson, the teams' leading scorer on the year, totaled 16 points, while Jamie Jackson and Ashala Watson added 13 and 10 points.
In the first half, it was the Scots jumping out to a 13-6 lead at the 13:30 mark, but in less than a minute, the Owls narrowed the deficit to three points (13-10), after Wells and Volkart both knocked in consecutive two point baskets.
Lyon would push its advantage out to 21-13, with 8:38 remaining, after Tamires de Souza made her two point shot, but WWU again responded on its next possession, as
Kelsey Scherder drained her 3-pointer off an assist from
Destani Stensrud, which put the score at 21-16.
The Scots were able to gain some breathing room back over the next three minutes of play, as they went on a 6-0 run, capped off by Elliot Taylor making both of her free throw attempts, which extended the teams' lead out to 27-16, with 3:50 left in the half.
WWU would not let the game get away from them, however, as they came back with a 9-2 run of its own, as
Nia Lateju hit her two point shot with 1:01 left on the scoreboard and cut the lead to 29-25.
Lyon would knock in one more basket, while Stensrud hit both of her free throws with .05 seconds remaining and as the buzzer sounded, the teams' headed to its respective locker rooms, with the Scots ahead, 31-27.
WWU shot 44.0 percent from the field through the first 20:00 minutes of play and were led by Volkart's eight points and five rebounds. Lyon, meanwhile, was held to 33.3 percent shooting, but held a rebounding advantage of 20-13.
The Owls continued to chip away at the Scots lead early in the second half and at the 16:51 mark, they were able to tie the game up for the first time, at 35-35, after French made her two point shot off an assist from Stensrud.
Carina Jackson came down the floor and scored on the teams' next offensive possession, but WWU had the momentum on its side, as after Volkart went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, which narrowed the lead down to 37-36 at the 15:49 mark, Volkart again came up big, as she hit her layup in the paint and was fouled on the play, giving the Owls its first lead of the game at 39-37, as the Russellville, Missouri, native, went on to hit her free throw after the foul with 13:39 left in regulation.
Watson would tie the game at 39-39 at the 12:52 mark, after scoring a fast break two-pointer and then the Scots would retake the lead with 11:02 remaining, after Jamie Jackson grabbed down the offensive rebound and scored the put-back two-pointer.
Lyon maintained its marginal lead over the Owls, as at the 7:11 mark, Volkart hit her two point shot, off an assist from Webb, which narrowed the lead to 52-46.
That, however, was the Owls final basket of the game, as the Scots closed out regulation on a 13-0 run and went on for the 19-point victory.
WWU shot just 29.2 percent in the second half, while Lyon hit 60.0 percent (15-of-25) of its shots in the final 20:00 minutes of play.
The Owls season is far from over, however, as they have already earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship, which will begin on March 18
th in Independence, Missouri. Who and when the team will play is still TBA.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com for a full preview of who the Owls will play in the opening round of the National Championships.
