BILLINGS, Mont. – For the first time in school history, the William Woods University women's basketball team will be playing in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, presented by Wells Fargo. The Owls trailed by eight, 52-44, entering the fourth quarter before outscoring John Brown University, 20-9, to comeback and defeat the Golden Eagles, 64-61.
 
Kelsey Scherder gave the Owls the win when she hit a three pointer with two seconds remaining in the contest. Scherder led the Owls with 19 points in the contest. WWU hit 12 three-pointers in the win to advance to its first ever quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.

"I'm extremely proud of everyone that has played a part in this," said  Head Coach Dan Chapla. "This team never quit. The just kept scraping and finally got a little momentum in the fourth quarter. I just couldn't be more proud of a young group of women."
 
WWU will return to the court tomorrow, March 18th when they play in the quarterfinals at 9 p.m. CT against Vanguard (Calif.).
 
Game Flow
The Owls did not get the start they were hoping for against the Golden Eagles, as the Owls missed the first four shots of the contest but John Brown did not as they raced out to an early 14-0 lead. Kennedy Volkart got the Owls on the scoreboard just about four minutes in as she hit a layup. The lead grew to 17-2 for the Golden Eagles before the Owls went on an 8-0 run. Volkart ended the run by scoring a jumper in the paint and the Owls found themselves down 17-10. The Owls continued to chip away and the Owls Bailey Rollins hit back to back three pointers and after one quarter of play, the Owls trailed 23-19.
 
William Woods continued to chip away at the Golden Eagles lead and after a Kelsey Scherder three, the Owls had the lead down to four, 28-24, with 7:41 left in the second quarter. After Scherder's three, the Owls went scoreless for the next three minutes of action and the Golden Eagles stretched its lead back to 11 points, 35-24. WWU continued to cut into John Brown's lead as April Gebke hit a three-pointer putting the Owls down six, 35-29, with 3:04 left in the quarter. WWU would not score again and the Owls trailed 38-29 at halftime.
 
The Owls were held scoreless to open the third quarter for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter and during the time John Brown stretched its lead to 18 points, 47-29. Volkart hit a pair of free throws getting the Owls on the board in the third quarter with 5:24 left. Again, the Golden Eagles stretched its lead back to 18 points, 49-31, before the Owls offense started to pick up. Leading the charge for the Owls was freshman Peyton Greenlee, who scored all her 17 points in the second half. WWU closed the third quarter on a 11-2 run trimming the Golden Eagle lead down to eight, 52-44, heading to the fourth quarter.
 
William Woods strong second half continued as they trimmed the Golden Eagles lead down to five points, 54-49, after a Rollins three-pointer in the fourth quarter. On the next trip down for the Owls, Greenlee knocked down another three, putting the Owls down two, 54-52. A minute later Kaycee Gerald hit a pair of free throws tying the contest at 54. WWU took its first lead of the contest when Rollins hit a two-point jumper with 6:18 left in the game.
 
The Owls did not lead by more than two points for the final four minutes of the contest. With the game tied at 56-56, Gerald hit a layup putting the Owls ahead 58-56. However, John Brown scored the next five points taking a 61-58 lead with 1:22 left in the game. The Owls would not go away as Greenlee answered the three by the Golden Eagles with one of her own tying the game at 61-61 with 49 second left. After a turnover by Kodee Powell, the Owls called a timeout with 17 second remaining.
 
Holding for the last shot Gerald drove the line and once the defense collapsed on her, she found a wide open Scherder a three pointer, which is knocked down putting the Owls ahead by three, 64-61. John Brown had one more chance but could not get the shot to fall and the Owls came away with a come from behind 64-61 victory.
 
By the Numbers
18 – The Owls trailed by 18 points with 4:29 left in the third quarter
11 – WWU outscored John Brown by 11 points in the fourth quarter to comeback
33.3 – William Woods shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the second half
12 – The Owls hit 12 three-pointers in the contest
4 – William Woods had four players score in double-figures
19 – Kelsey Scherder led the Owls with 19 poitns
17 – Peyton Greenlee scored all 17 points in the second half
16 – The Owls collected 16 assists in the victory