HANNIBAL, Mo. – The William Woods University women's basketball team closed out the 2017-18 regular season with a 62-55 victory over Hannibal-LaGrange University on Saturday afternoon in American Midwest Conference action.
 
Jasmine Brown led the way for the Owls as she scored 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Brown also led the Owls with 10 rebounds as she collected a double-double. Kaycee Gerald rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Owls with 15 points. WWU shot 43.5 percent from the floor in the contest.
 
The Owls return to action on Thursday, March 1st when they open AMC Conference Tournament action. WWU will be the fifth seed in the AMC Tournament and will travel to Belleville, Illinois to face fourth seed Lindenwood University-Belleville. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 
 
Game Flow
WWU started the first quarter by scoring the first eight points of the contest. Leading the Owls charge was Jasmine Brown, who scored six of the first eight points for the Owls. Hannibal-LaGrange came right back and trimmed the lead down to two, 8-6, after an Emma Anderson layup. William Woods slowly grew the lead to seven, 15-8, after a jumper in the paint by Tori Nesslage. HLGU scored two more points in the quarter and WWU led 15-10 after one quarter of play.
 
After neither team scored for the first two minutes of the second quarter, the Owls lead was down to two, 15-13, after a Kenna Greenway three. Over the next three minutes of the contest, William Wood slowly grew its lead to 10 points, 25-15, after a Kaycee Gerald layup. The Trojans held the Owls scoreless for a three-minute span closing the gap to two before Gerald hit a three sending the game to halftime. WWU led 28-23, at half.
 
Hannibal-LaGrange continued to keep the contest close in the second half and took a 29-28 lead after an Anderson jumper. WWU and HLGU traded buckets over the next two minutes. With the game tied at 34-34, WWU scored the next five points taking a five-point lead, 39-34, after a Hannah Bland three. The five-point lead would be the largest for the remainder of the quarter as the Trojans kept cutting the Owls lead down to one. WWU stretched its lead to five, 49-44, after a Peyton Greenlee jumper at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Owls stretched its lead out to seven starting the fourth quarter as a jumper by Bailey Rollins put the Owls ahead 53-46. The Trojans continued to keep the game close as a three by Greenway put the Trojans down one, 54-53, with 5:55 left in the game. After the three by Greenway, WWU held the Trojans to two points the rest of the game, while the Owls scored eight points. WWU closed out the regular season with a 62-55 victory.
 
By the Numbers
25 – Jasmine Brown scored 25 points leading the Owls to the victory on Saturday
10 – Brown led the Owls with 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season
13 – WWU had 13 assists on 20 made buckets
15 – Kaycee Gerald scored 15 points in the contest
8 – The Owls had eight blocks in the contest
3 – Jasmine Brown led the Owls with three blocks
20-for-26 – William Woods was 20-for-26 from the free throw line in the contest
31 – The Owls scored 31 points in the paint