FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University women's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season with a win over Cottey College Monday evening. The narrow 50-47 win starts the Owls off with a 1-0 record.

Freshman Sydney Booker recorded a double-double in her college debut while senior Kasey Hazell was just one point shy of a double-double. 
 
The Owls next play an exhibition game at Southeast Missouri State University on Monday, Nov. 1, at 6:30 p.m.
 
By The Numbers
19 – Sydney Booker opened her Owls' debut with a double-double, putting up 19 points with 10 rebounds.
13 – Kasey Hazell pulled down 13 rebounds.
9 – Kasey Hazell was one point shy of a double-double.
 
Game Highlights
Sydney Booker knocked down the first two jump shots of the game to give the Owls a 4-0 lead two minutes in, and Kasey Hazell went 2-for-2 from the foul line to put them up 6-0. After four quiet minutes, Cottey got on the board. A three from Katie Keilholz put the Owls up by eight with 3:32 on the clock. Cottey scored last in the quarter, bringing the difference to six points, 14-8.
 
A three from Cottey to open the second quarter cut the game to three, but Booker and Jheda Kennedy scored back-to-back buckets to put the Owls back up by seven with 7:17 on the clock, 18-11. Cottey again cut the game to three, but a traditional three-point play from Hazell started a 6-0 run to give the Owls a nine-point lead, 24-15. Arriyonn Phillips scored the last points of the half on a three to send the Owls into halftime with a 27-19 lead.
 
The Owls struggled in the third quarter as Cottey outscored the team 15-6 to put Cottey up by one heading into the final quarter, 34-33.
 
The lead bounced back-and-forth to start the fourth. A layup from Amaya Keeling put the Owls up by two with 6:12 on the clock, and the Owls never lost the lead again. Booker knocked down a short shot in the paint to give the Owls' a four-point lead, and did it again on the next possession to keep the four-point lead with 2:38 to play, 47-43. A fastbreak layup from Natalie Thomas put the Owls up by five with 1:48 to go. Cottey cut the game to two with 16 seconds on the clock, but a free throw from Kennedy put the Owls back up by three with 9.6 seconds remaining. Cottey attempted to score by Keeling got her hand on the shot just before the buzzer to end the game with a 50-47 win.