BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The (RV) William Woods University women's basketball team escaped Tuesday night with a down to the wire 68-65 victory over Lindenwood University-Belleville.
 
The Owls (11-3; 6-2 AMC), earned very point in the hard fought battle with the Lady Lynx, to capture its fifth straight American Midwest Conference (AMC) victory and push its win streak up to three consecutive wins in the new year.
 
WWU had a rocky start to the match-up, as the Lady Lynx came out on fire, jumping out to an early 15-4 lead at the 4:17 mark in the first quarter. The Owls would get a boast of energy offensively, after a two point bucket from Kelsey Scherder, to cut LU-Belleville's lead down to seven with just three minutes left in the quarter. However, the Lady Lynx were not backing down and held on to a nine point lead and closed the first quarter with a 19-10 advantage over WWU.
 
The second quarter started in similar actions as the first frame, as LU-Belleville kept the Owls on its heels, extending its lead out to the largest of the night at 16 making it a 28-12 game at the 7:21 mark.
 
Then shortly after, knowing they needed to get something going offensively, the Owls center Kennedy Volkart ignited a 17-0 run, after a two point basket to completely take command of the remainder of the second quarter. Senior Julia Wells would score the go ahead basket, to cap of the impressive come from behind run for the Owls and send the Lady Lynx, who had lead most of the first 20:00 minutes of play into half time trailing by one at 29-28.
 
William Woods shot just 29.3 percent from the field but was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, as Volkart led the way with eight points at the break. Meanwhile, LU-Belleville was 11-of-34 (32.4 percent) from the field and ended the first half shooting 28.6 from the three point line.
 
Coming out of halftime, after outscoring the Lady Lynx 19-9 in the second quarter, WWU hit the first shot, giving them the 31-28 lead, but then two free throws from LU-Belleville's Rilea Huff tied the game up at 31-31.
 
The rest of the third quarter saw both teams go point for point and with each showing relentless with every possession, the game was tied up for the fourth time in the third frame at 44-44 with less than a minute left, after a Candace Niemerg basket.
 
Then with .22 left on the clock Huff would nail a three pointer to put LU-Belleville up by three, although the Owls would have time for once last shot and Kendra Vernatti would lay the ball in for two points, getting within one point (47-46) of the Lady Lynx heading into the final quarter.
 
The fourth quarter was nothing less than a back and forth battle between both teams. At the 4:23 minute mark, the game was knotted up yet again, at 58-58 and then Huff hit her third three pointer of the game, to put LU-Belleville up by three. However, WWU would regain the momentum putting together a 6-0 run, to give the Owls the 64-61 lead going down the stretch of regulation. With less than .30 seconds left in the game, Lady Lynx crawled back and got within just one of WWU, after Huff went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
 
The next trip down, WWU senior Nia Lateju would arguably hit the most important basket of the game, to give the Owls the 68-65 advantage over the Lady Lynx. LU-Belleville would launch up a three pointer with the horn sounding, but the Owls would go on to escape with the 68-65 win.
 
William Woods ended the night shooting 32.9 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe, while LU-Belleville shot 35.5 percent from the floor and went 7-for-24 from beyond the arc.
 
The Owls had two strong displays from seniors, Nia Lateju and Julia Wells, as both gave WWU the liveliness with their double-double performances. Lateju, ended the night with a team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Wells chipped in 10 points and 12 boards. Volkart also had a resilient night for WWU, collecting 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
In an attempt of upsetting the Owls, the Lady Lynx had three players not only play all 40:00 minutes but end the night in double figures. Huff had a game-high 20 points, while Tiara Bramlett posted an impressive 19 points and 18 rebounds and Niemerg chipped in 15 points and 10 boards.
 
The Owls get back on the court on Thursday, as the team returns to Anderson Arena to host Williams Baptist College for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full time recap and score on Thursday night.
 
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