HENDERSON, Tenn. – The William Woods University women's basketball team was defeated by No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University, 62-50, on Saturday afternoon in Henderson, Tennessee. The Owls struggled shooting from the floor as they shot a season-low 32.8 percent for the contest.
 
Senior April Gebke led the way for the Owls with 12 points, on 5-of-9 shooting. Kelsey Scherder followed with 10 points. WWU hit seven three-pointers in the contest, with Gebke and Scherder hitting two three-pointers apiece. Jasmine Brown and Kaycee Gerald led the Owls with seven rebounds each.
 
William Woods returns to action on Thursday, January 12th when they host Stephens College in American Midwest Conference action. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
 
Game Flow
The Owls and Lady Lions offenses got off to a slow start in the contest as over the first four minutes of the game, both teams combined for seven points. A three-pointer by Peyton Greenlee put the Owls ahead, 5-2. After the three by Greenlee, the offenses slowly woke up and WWU stretched its lead to five points, 14-9, after a Kelsey Scherder three. However, the Owls did not score again for the quarter and the Lady Lions scored the final eight points of the quarter. WWU trailed 17-14, after the first quarter of action.
 
The Lady Lions run continued into the second quarter as they scored the first four points of the quarter, growing its lead to 21-14. WWU did not score its first basket in the quarter until there was 6:26 left in the quarter when Kennedy Volkart hit a jumper putting the Owls down, 21-16. WWU continued to battle and after a Bailey Rollins jumper WWU trailed by five, 25-20. Freed-Hardeman stretched the lead back to seven points, 27-20, and Scherder hit a three-point jumper trimming the Lady Lions lead down to four, 27-23, which would be the halftime score.
 
William Woods offense came out cold in the second half as they scored two points in the first four and a half minutes of the second half. During that stretch, the Lady Lions grew the lead to nine, 34-25, after a Carrie Hatchel three-pointers. The lead grew to 12 points, 41-29, with one minute to go in the quarter. Freed-Hardeman grew the lead to 15 pts, 46-31, after three quarters of play.
 
WWU's offense came to life in the fourth quarter as they scored a game-high 19 points in the quarter. William Woods' Scherder and Rollins scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, trimming the lead down to 10, 46-36. However, the Lady Lions stretched its lead back to 15 points, 51-36, with 4:30 left in the contest. The Owls cut the lead down to 10 points, but would not get closer than 10 points for the remainder of the contest. Kailey Morris hit a three-pointer to end the game for the Owls, who would fall to No. 1 Freed-Hardeman, 62-50, on Saturday afternoon.
 
By the Numbers
12 – April Gebke led the Owls with 12 points
2 – Two Owls scored in double-figures in the contest
32.8 – WWU shot 32.8 percent from the floor, a season-low
14 – William Woods committed 14 turnovers
7 – Jasmine Brown and Kaycee Gerald led the Owls with seven rebounds apiece
9 – WWU had nine assists in the loss
5-of-6 – William Woods was 5-of-6 from the free throw line against Freed-Hardeman
4 – WWU had four blocks in the contest, led by Jasmine Brown who had three