BATESVILLE, ARK. – William Woods University women's basketball suffered their third conference loss of the season Thursday night as they fell 60-52 to No.18 Lyon. The Owls move to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the AMC.
 
Peyton Greenlee led WWU with 15 points on 8-10 shooting. She also snatched down 5 rebounds. Kaycee Gerald followed with 9 points and 7 rebounds of her own.
 
The Owls return to action Saturday Jan. 5^th as they travel to Conway, AR. To face Central Baptist. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Game Flow
Within 15 seconds of the game, William Woods jumped out to a 3-0 lead when Greenlee knocked down the first three point basket of the game. 30 seconds later, Lyon was finally able to get on the board when Samantha French connected for a two point basket in the paint. 2 minutes into the first quarter French would find the bottom of the net once again and give the Scotts a 4-3 advantage.
 
Down one, William Woods guard Gerald, went on a personal 4-0 run pushing the Owls ahead 7-4. Riley Madison was able to slow the Owls down with a midrange jump shot putting Lyon down one. With under 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Greenlee knocked down her second three pointer of the contest which gave WWU a 9-6 advantage.
 
Finally, after trailing most of the quarter, Keli Romas tied the game 9-9 going 1-2 from the foul line. William Woods would quickly regain an 11-9 lead when Ashleigh Frampton connected on a two point basket.
 
With 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Scotts tied the game once again on a Romas basket. 1 minute later. Lexy Ganaway knocked down another three point bucket for WWU giving them a 14-11 lead. Immediately following Ganaways' basket, Sommer Burgard had a strong finish in the paint giving them a 16-11 advantage. Lyon went on to score one more time in the quarter before time expired, but the Owls were still ahead 16-14 going into the second quarter.
 
At the beginning of the second quarter, Lyon turned up the intensity. Three minutes into the quarter, French had a two point basket in the paint the put the Scotts ahead 20-17. They would eventually spread their lead out to 22-19 when Ali Tucker had a strong finish in the paint as well.
 
With 3 minutes left in the half, Greenlee was fouled and sent to the line where she went 1-2 and tied the game at 22. Immediately following the WWU foul shots, Madison Riley hit a huge three pointer for the Scotts pushing them back ahead 25-22. Less than a minute later, Riley found the bottom of the basket once again pushing their lead to 27-22.
 
Finally, after a quick Lyon run, Kasey Hazell had a two point basket in the paint that put the Owls down 24-27. In the final second of the half, she was fouled and sent to the line where she went 1-2 putting WWU down 25-27 going into halftime.
 
After a back-and-forth first half, Lyon was finally able to gain a 36-26 lead in the third quarter. With 4:22 remaining in the period, Greenlee knocked down two foul shots that sparked a 9-1 WWU run.
 
With WWU regaining momentum, Liz Hederson hit an energy draining three pointer that pushed the Lyon lead to 40-34.
 
Both teams scored one point each before the end of the period.
 
Down 41-35, William Woods opened the final quarter by putting the first points on the board. 15 seconds into the period, Greenlee knocked down a short midrange jump shot putting the Owls down 4. Less than a minute later, Hazell knocked down a three point basket putting WWU down 40-43.
 
A few seconds ran off the clock before either team scored again. Finally, at the 7:13 mark, Tucker hit a fast break three pointer giving Lyon a 46-40 advantage. But the Owls responded with a three pointer of their own coming from Gerald.
 
With 6 minutes remaining in the contest, Riley connected on her two point basket and sparked a 8-3 Scotts run that put them ahead 54-46.
 
At the 1 minute mark, William Woods found themselves down 60-49.  A Rylie Cox three would put them behind 8, but time would expire before the Owls could do anything and Lyon would win the contest 60-52.
 
By the Numbers
 
5 – Peyton Greenlee grabbed 5 rebound in the game
7 – Kaycee Gerald and Kasey Hazell led with 7 rebounds in the contest
9 – Gerald chipped in 9 points in the game
15 – Greenlee led the Owls with 15 points on the night
29% - WWU shot 29% from behind the arc
33% - The Owls shot 33% from the field as a team
64% - William Woods shot 64% from the foul line