FULTON, Mo. - Although she normally drives the offense indirectly as a strong point guard for the Owls,
Jersee Wren took a more direct route on Thursday, leading all scorers as William Woods (2-1) handed Blue Mountain Christian University (1-3) a 58-40 loss inside Anderson Arena.
Aiyanna Tanksley added 11 points and eight rebounds in the winning effort as well.
Woods got off to a slower start than expected, missing six of its first seven shots and turning over the ball twice in the first five minutes. Solid defense minimized the damage, as Tanksley picked up two blocks and the Owls prevented BMC from getting many open looks.
A triple by Wren with 5:17 jump-started WWU's offense, igniting a 14-2 run by Woods.
Mariah Prince grabbed a pair of big rebounds during the run, along with a steal and fastbreak layup to force a 30-second timeout with 3:07 on the clock.
WWU stretched its 16-6 first quarter lead to a 21-8 margin midway through the second quarter, but the Toppers managed to close the gap back to 10 at the halftime break.
The third quarter was all William Woods, as the Owls outscored BMC 21-7, blowing the game wide open. Tanksley battled in the lane for a pair of layups, then
Katie Keilholz answered a bucket by Charnita Brooks with a triple off a dish from Wren. Prince had another coast-to-coast steal and layup with under a minute left to seal the victory for the Owls, as WWU took a 53-29 lead into the final quarter.
Even as head coach
Terry Nash cleared his bench, WWU held the Toppers to just 11 points in the final ten minutes.
Woods outshot BMC on the night, hitting 38.6 percent (22-57) from the floor to 27.3 percent (15-55) for the Toppers, also connecting on six of 22 attempts from distance (27.3 percent) to just 2-20 (10.0 percent) shooting from Blue Mountain Christian. The Owls also maintained a 48-31 edge on the glass, including a 14-10 offensive rebounding margin.
Next up for the Owls is a return visit to Point Lookout, Mo., this time for the C of O Lady Cat Classic. Woods will take on Southwestern Christian University on Friday, Nov. 17.
