BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The RV William Woods University women's basketball team suffered a tough loss Tuesday night as they fell 58-53 to Lindenwood-Belleville in the AMC Game of the Week. The Owls are now 16-10 overall and 12-8 in the AMC.
 
Bailey Rollins knocked down four three pointers and led the Owls with 12 points. Ashleigh Frampton followed with 9 points and 6 rebounds while Peyton Greenlee chipped in 8 points and 8 rebounds.
 
The Owls return to action Thursday, Feb. 14 as they take on No.17 Lyon. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
 
Game Flow
The Owls got off to a hot start early in the first period gaining a 5-0 advantage. Lindenwood-Belleville finally slowed WWU down when Allison Daca scored on a nice two-point jump shot putting the Lynx down 5-2.
 
William Woods continued their early hot streak pushing their lead to 8-2 when Rollins hit her first three-point basket of the contest. Moments later, Kaycee Gerald connected on her two-point bucket and gave WWU a 10-2 lead.
 
After a slow start, Lindenwood-Belleville finally got things rolling late in the first period. With a little under four-minutes left Brianna Muller was fouled and sent to the line where she hit both free throws that put the Lynx down nine. A few seconds later she knocked down a nice midrange jumper that made the score 14-8. 1-minute later she scored again for Lindenwood-Belleville this time hitting a huge three-pointer putting them down three.
 
Muller led the game in scoring finishing with 29 points on 8-17 shooting. She also shot 50% from behind the arc.
 
With the lead slowly declining, Gerald was able to bring the spark back for the Owls. With 1:37 remaining in the first period she connected on an and-1 play and hit the free throw putting WWU ahead 17-11. But it would not be enough to slow Muller down as she knocked down another three-point basket putting the Lynx down three.
 
Tori Nesslage responded to the Muller three by hitting a three or her own, but Muller would return the favor by knocking down her third three of the period and put Lindenwood-Belleville down 20-17 going into the second period.
After a back and fourth first period, Lindenwood-Belleville finally took control of the game when Dacas' two-point bucket feel through and gave the Lynx a 23-20 lead.
 
They were able to increase their lead to 25-20 when Sydney Kremer connected on her midrange jump shot.
 
Finally, after 4 scoreless minutes, Greenlee hit a deep three-pointer moving the Owls within three of the Lynx; but Muller would respond once again with a three-pointer of her own and gave LBU a 29-23 lead.
 
A Muller free throw at the 4:05 mark would be the final points scored in the half and Lindenwood-Belleville would walk into halftime ahead 30-23.
 
Down seven, the Owls returned from halftime a different team. They scored 18 unanswered points to gain a 41-30 lead.
 
The Lynx were finally able to score in the third period at the 3:31 mark when Muller hit another three-pointer.
 
Quickly after hitting a three, Muller scored on a nice midrange jump shot and put the Lynx down 41-35.
 
Rollins would push the WWU lead back out to nine when she caught fire a sank her three-point attempt.
 
LBU's Hailey Erdman responded to the Rollins three by hitting a deep three-pointer of her own, but the Owls would still go into the fourth period ahead 44-38.
 
After getting off to a hot third period start, William Woods cooled off in the fourth. Lindenwood-Belleville turned up their intensity and when on 12-0 run and gained a 50-44 advantage.
 
The Owls were finally able to score midway through the period on a Frampton jump shot.
 
At the 3:45 mark, Greenlee was fouled and sent to the line where she knocked down both free throws and put the Owls down 50-47. But Erdman went on to hit another Lynx three-pointer and push the lead to five.
 
The Owls were able to get within three of the Lynx when Lexy Ganaway hit a clutch three-point basket, but time was not on their side as they had to foul and send Kremer to the foul line.
 
With 3-seconds remaining in the game, Kremer snaked both foul shots and Lindenwood-Belleville walked away with a 57-53 victory.
 
By the Numbers
.636 – The Owls shot 63% from the foul line
4 – Bailey Rollins made 4 threes in the contest
8 – Peyton Greenlee led the Owls with 8 rebounds
9 – Ashleigh Frampton chipped in 9 points
12 – Rollins led WWU with 12 points
18 – William Woods outscored the Lynx 18-8 in the third period