FULTON, Mo. - Coming into the contest, William Woods (7-6, 1-3 AMC) knew that success rested on finding a way to stop UHSP's (8-6, 3-1 AMC) Grace Beyer. The Owls held Beyer at bay through the first 15 minutes of the contest and clung tenaciously to a lead through three quarters but ultimately dropped a 69-62 result to the Eutectics.
Mariah Prince knocked down the first two buckets of the game for Woods, but was whistled for a foul on Beyer at the 7:33 mark, with the FT makes giving UHSP a 6-4 lead.
After misses by both teams, the Owls staved off two second-chance opportunities for the Eutectics before
Sydney Booker hauled in a rebound. On the opposite end of the court, Booker found space on the wing and dropped a triple off the assist by
Jersee Wren to spark a 11-0 WWU run.
With just under four minutes left in the quarter, both teams hit a cold stretch, with UHSP coughing up four turnovers and Woods coming up empty on four possessions including an uncharacteristic missed pair of free throws at the 3:00 mark.
UHSP scored the first six points of the second quarter to close a seven-point first quarter deficit to 17-16, but Booker nailed a short jumper to snap Woods out of its temporary lull. The Owls clung tenaciously to the lead until the 3:52 mark, as Beyer was able to draw a whistle after light contact by Wren and finish the three-point play to give the Eutectics a 22-21 lead.
Booker answered with a triple and the teams traded the lead back and forth twice down the stretch, but
Natalie Thomas drained a three at the buzzer to send WWU to the locker room up 31-29.
The Owls were able to extend to a 44-41 lead over the first seven minutes of the third quarter, but Beyer started to find her stride and the Eutectics mustered a 47-44 lead to end the quarter.
Woods tried valiantly to battle back in the fourth quarter, matching UHSP with six field goal makes and connecting on all four free throw attempts, but the visitors capitalized on a lopsided foul count, going 10-for-15 from the stripe to hold off the Owls comeback.
WWU mustered a 49.0 percent FG rate (24-60) and hit 4 of 16 from long range, holding UHSP to 23-52 (44.2%) shooting and a 2-9 pace from distance, but couldn't overcome a 21-10 deficit from the charity stripe.
The Owls look to snap back into the win column on Thursday, Jan. 18, hosting Cottey College in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. William Woods will also recognize its AMC Men's Cross Country Champion team and its third-place NAIA Marathon Classic squad at halftime.
