LINCOLN, Ill. – The William Woods University women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season with a win over Lincoln College (Ill.), 67-57.
 
The Owls travel to Nevada, Mo. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, to play Cottey College. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
 
By The Numbers
18 – Kaycee Gerald and Kasey Hazell scored a floor-high 18 points apiece.
12 – Gerald scored 12 of her 18 points off free throws.
8 – Peyton Greenlee pulled down eight boards, including six defensive.
8 – Hazell went 8-for-13 from the field.
5 – Rylie Cox finished with five steals. 
4 – Cox dished in four assists.
 
Game Flow
LC jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game through the first two minutes of play. After four minutes of silence from the Owls, Carleigh Jenkins sunk one from in the paint to put the Owls on the board The Owls continued on a 12-0 run to take the lead over the next 3 ½ minutes. LC scored the next six points to take a three-point lead, but a three from Hazell knotted the game at 15 all with 20 seconds on the clock. Hazell scored again at the buzzer, this time in the paint, to put the Owls up by two heading into the second quarter. 
 
The Owls scored first in the second quarter with a short jumper from Gerald in the paint. A two from Jenkins gave the Owls a six-point lead, 21-15. LC closed the gap to two with a three, but Jazlyn Drake hit a three with 6:23 left in the half to take a five-point lead, 26-21. Two free throws from Tori Nesslage gave the Owls a seven-point advantage halfway through the quarter, and back-to-back buckets from Hazell gave the Owls a double-digit lead, 32-22. LC scored three on a traditional three-point play after being fouled, but Hazell scored the final points of the half to send the Owls into halftime with a 34-25 lead. 
 
Gerald started the scoring for the second half with two good free throws just 18 seconds in, putting the Owls up by 11, 36-25. LC managed to cut the game to two with 1:52 on the clock, but Greenlee hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Owls an eight-point lead, 43-35. With two seconds on the clock, LC went 1-for-2 from the foul line to bring the game to 43-36 heading into the final quarter.
 
LC pulled in the lead with a 12-0 run through the first two minutes of the final quarter, 48-43. A Hazell bucket in the paint stopped the LC run, but LC put up two more on free throws. Following a Greenlee bucket in the paint to cut the game to three, 50-47, neither team scored for 1 ½ minutes. Drake went 3-for-4 from the foul line in less than a minute to even the score at 50 all. Two good free throws from Gerald took back the Owls lead with 3:53 on the clock, and the Owls went on an 11-0 run to take a 61-51 lead with 1:16 left in the game. With fouling as their final resort, LC sent Gerald to the line twice and Cox once. The Owls went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line to win the game 67-55.