FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University women's basketball team picked up its fifth straight win on Saturday afternoon as they defeated Park University, 62-59, in American Midwest Conference action.
 
The Owls struggled shooting the ball in the first half, but a strong second half led William Woods to the three-point victory. The Owls shot 14.3 percent, 3-for-21, in the first half before shooting 48.3 percent, 14-for-29, in the second half.
 
Kaycee Gerald led the Owls with 16 points and Peyton Greenlee followed with 12 rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Owls. WWU shot 34 percent from the game.
 
WWU returns to action on Thursday, January 25th when they travel to St. Louis, Missouri to face Missouri Baptist University in AMC action. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Game Flow
WWU found themselves down 3-0 in the first quarter before Bailey Rollins hit a jumper putting the Owls on the board. Rollins jumper would be the only field goal for the Owls in the quarter, which was hit with 7:31 left in the quarter. Park tried to pull away, but the Owls found ways to get to the free throw line in the quarter keeping the contest close. WWU trailed by nine, 20-11, after one quarter of play.
 
Like the first quarter, the Owls shooting was cold opening the second quarter of play. Park stretched its lead to 12, 25-13, with 7:30 left in the half. William Woods again found ways to get to the free throw line and keep the game close. Kaycee Gerald hit the Owls second field goal of the game on a layup with 3:05 left in the half. WWU got one more field goal in the quarter by Greenlee and the Owls trailed Park by nine, 32-23, at halftime.
 
WWU came out in the third quarter continuing to attack the Pirates and get to the free throw line. After a pair of free throws by Hannah Bland, the Owls trailed by eight, 34-26. Park tried to extend the lead, but the Owls continued to answer back. A layup by Gerald put the Owls down two, 36-34, with 4:59 left in the third. About two minutes later, Gerald put the Owls ahead, 37-36, after hitting a jumper. William Woods closed the quarter out on an 8-0 run taking a 45-39 lead after three quarters of play.
 
The Owls shooting woes came back in the fourth quarter as they were held scoreless over the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. During the stretch the Pirates came back tying the game at 45-45. Greenlee hit a three putting the Owls ahead but Cautia Wadood answered. On the next trip down Greenlee hit another three putting the Owls up by three, 51-48, with 7:02 left in the contest.
 
The Owls grew its lead to five points, 54-49, but the Pirates had an answer scoring the next six points taking a 55-54 lead with 3:45 left in the contest. Bailey Rollins put the Owls ahead 56-55, and the Owls did not give up the lead again as they came away with a 62-59 victory.
 
By the Numbers
12 – WWU outscored Park by 12 in the second half
16 – Kaycee Gerald led the Owls with 16 points
34.0 – WWU shot 34 percent from the field in the game
8 – Hannah Bland led the Owls with eight rebounds
2 – Two Owls scored in double-figures on the contest
2 – Peyton Greenlee hit two threes for WWU
14 – William Woods committed 14 turnovers
7 – WWU dished out seven assists in the contest
26-of-32 – William Woods was 26-of-32 from the free throw line