SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- William Woods University (2-3), coming off a tough loss Saturday afternoon against CMU, traveled to Springfield to take on the Evangel Valor (0-3). The Owls, led by senior guard Katie Keilholz, outscored their opponent 64-52 knocking down six shots from deep.
"We have hung our hats on the defensive end this year so far like every year," William Woods women's basketball coach Terry Nash said. "Today, we also combined defense with playing smarter down the stretch of the game. Another game with almost four double-figure scorers makes a coach happy as well. I look forward to continuing to grow day by day with this team. They work so hard, and I am proud of them."
The first quarter started off with the Owls outscoring the hosting Valor 19 to 8 with Katie Keilholz and Jersee Wren combining for 12 of the Woods 19 points. Katie, netting two from behind the arc, while Jersee went 3-5 from midrange to pour on to an Owls lead.
Quarter number two told a very different story for the Owls as Evangel got the edge outscoring Terry Nash's squad by three points. The saving grace for Woods was the ability to collect rebounds on the defensive side, limiting second chance points for the Valor. This rebounding came from all over the court as Sydney Booker hauled in three boards down low while guards Kaedence Gipson, Jersee Wren, Mariah Prince, and Layla Young each crashed the boards from the wing.
William Woods was able to stretch their lead in the third quarter outscoring their opponent 22-20, shooting over 50% from the field. In the quarter the Owls forced eight turnovers resulting in 10 of the 22 points. The Woods elite defense helped them limit scoring from the Valor while setting up offensive opportunities as almost every Owls player scored in the frame. Jersee Wren led the team in scoring throughout the third quarter tallying 7 points shooting 60% from the field.
In the fourth quarter the Owls cemented their win thanks to Katie Keilholz who scored seven points in the quarter. Keilholz, a senior for the Owls, went 1-3 from long range and went perfect from the line, adding four free throws to lead Woods to victory.
The Owls tallied their second win of the season thanks to an overall defensive gem as they tallied 30 defensive rebounds while forcing 23 turnovers. Notable performances from Katie Keilholz (16 pts), Jersee Wren (14 pts), and Sydney Booker (13 pts) led the Owls on the offensive end, sealing their win in Springfield.
Woods is back in action in Anderson Arena on Friday night as they host the visiting Bellevue Bruins at 5:30 p.m. Anyone bringing in winter attire to donate will receive free entry to the game against Bellevue Friday night as well as the Men's game against (RV) Dordt on Saturday.
