BELLEVUE, Neb. - Although
Aiyanna Tanksley recorded her second straight double-double of the season and
Natalie Thomas led all scorers with 20, William Woods (5-2) came out on the wrong end of a last-second officiating decision in a 67-60 overtime loss at Bellevue University (4-4) on Saturday.
William Woods took advantage of a cold-shooting first quarter for Bellevue and jumped out to an 18-13 lead.
Mariah Prince led the Owls with seven points in the opening 10 minutes.
Both teams struggled to find their range in the second quarter, but Prince added another five for Woods as the Owls clung to a 28-25 lead at halftime.
Bellevue managed to tie the game at 28-28 on its second possession of the half, but the Owls had an immediate answer, as Tanksley threaded a pass to
Sydney Booker, who dropped in the layup through contact and converted the three-point play.
That sparked a 12-2 run for Woods, with the Owls stretching their lead as far as 14 in the quarter.
Ruthie Brown kept the Bruins from closing to single digits at the end of the quarter with a strong block on the outback attempt by Gabby Moore.
The Bruins finally discovered their range in the fourth quarter, hitting at a torrid 53.3 percent (8-15) pace from the floor, including five three-pointers in six attempts, as they closed the gap to 54-53 with 2:26 left.
After a miss by Booker and an offensive foul by Moore, both teams tried to work the clock to have the final possession of the game.
Jersee Wren knocked down a jumper to put Woods back in front by three, but the Bruins were able to answer with a triple to tie things at 56-56.
Thomas drew contact as she drove to the basket in the final minute, knocking down both free throws to force a Bruins timeout. Woods kept Bellevue from getting an open look from distance, but Aminah Hall was able to tie the game with 20.5 seconds on the clock.
On the final possession of regulation, Thomas tried to find Booker with an entry pass on the left side of the lane, but the pass was slightly behind, forcing Booker to pivot and fall on the basketball, holding for a tie-up as WWU had no timeouts left.
With the possession arrow in its favor, Woods took the ball on the baseline with 5.2 seconds left. Thomas exchanged a quick give-and-go to Booker, but her driving layup was just long off the back iron. Tanksley grabbed the rebound and was hammered by two Bruins defenders as she went up for the putback, drawing a whistle from the near side official as the buzzer sounded.
After a conference, the officiating crew decided that the foul had occurred after the expiration of the fourth quarter, denying Tanksley the opportunity to win the game from the line.
In the extra frame, Woods wasn't able to find the range, managing just two points on a pair of Thomas free throws.
The Owls head to Springfield for a matchup against future AMC foe Baptist Bible College on Dec. 9. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
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