BATESVILLE, Ark. – The William Woods University women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a double overtime loss at Lyon College Saturday afternoon.
The Owls conclude the regular season with an 8-19 overall record, 6-14 in conference play.
The Owls enter the American Midwest Conference Championship as the seven-seed. They will face two-seeded Missouri Baptist on Friday, Feb. 24, at noon. The 2023 AMC Women's Basketball Championship in its entirety will be hosted by Columbia College.
28 –
Sydney Booker scored a floor-high 28 points (9-15 FG, 10-11 FT). She scored 10 of the Owls' 18 points in the fourth quarter.
18 – The Owls outscored Lyon 18-8 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
16 –
Natalie Thomas put up 16 points.
10 –
Mariah Prince added 10 points to the game.
8 –
Natalie Thomas pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. The Owls' largest lead of the game was eight early in the second quarter.
7 –
Sydney Booker pulled down seven defensive rebounds.
4 –
Natalie Thomas and
Jersee Wren each recorded four assists.
The Owls jumped out to a 7-0 lead just two minutes in with points from
Sydney Booker and
Natalie Thomas. Lyon took the lead with an 8-0 run, but the Owls closed out the quarter with a 6-0 run to take an 18-12 lead.
A jumper from
MaKenna Wuelling gave the Owls an eight-point lead 13 seconds into the second quarter, their largest of the game. The Owls held a healthy lead throughout most of the quarter, but Lyon struck an 8-0 run in the final 1:39 of the half to take a one-point lead heading into halftime, 30-29.
The Owls were outscored 24-15 in the third quarter, aided by a Lyon 12-0 run over a four-minute span. The Owls trailed by 10 heading into the final 10 minutes, 54-44.
An 8-0 Owls' run with six points from Booker opened the fourth quarter, cutting the game to two three and a half minutes in. A jumper from Thomas finally evened the score at 58 all with 1:45 on the clock, and two Thomas free throws close to the end of the game put the Owls up by two, 62-60. A Lyon jumper at the buzzer sent the game into overtime.
The first overtime mimicked the end of the fourth quarter, and Lyon again evened the score at the buzzer. A missed free throw from Lyon gave the Owls another opportunity to win it in the second overtime.
Lyon pulled away in the second overtime, going up by six with just over a minute to play, but a three from
Katie Keilholz cut the game to three with 42 seconds to play. The Owls were unable to score again, ending with an 80-77 double overtime loss.
