PARKVILLE, Mo. - William Woods University (0-2) played another close game in the Remy Williams Memorial Invitational, leading four times in a 53-47 loss to host Park University (1-1) Saturday at Breckon Sports Center.
The Owls had solid performances throughout their lineup:
Mariah Prince tallied a team-high 12 points and three steals,
Sydney Booker collected a game-high 11 rebounds,
India Atkins dished out a game-high five assists and
Peyton Dearing knocked down two of WWU's three 3-pointers, accounting for six of her 10 points.
Just behind Dearing with nine points, fellow WWU guard
Jersee Wren gave the Owls their first lead this season when she hit a jumper to put them up 2-1 with 7:56 left in the first quarter. After the Pirates answered, Woods regained the advantage on Booker's layup, which made it 4-3 Owls. Park scored seven points with no reply following that basket, but the Owls finished the first quarter scoring six points unanswered to reduce their deficit to a point (11-10).
Just 25 seconds into the second quarter, Dearing's first triple knotted it up at 13. That started a 10-2 William Woods run. Wren's 3-pointer finished the scoring surge and handed the Owls a 20-15 lead with 4:43 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately for WWU, it didn't maintain its strong offensive stretch and let the Pirates end the half on a 7-2 run to make it 22-all at the break.
The Owls went in front for the final time when Booker went up for a layup to send Woods ahead 24-23 with 8:58 left in the third quarter; WWU's largest advantage was five points on Prince's jumper with 1:45 to go in the second quarter. Even though they only had one lead in the second half, the Owls kept it close. Toward the end of the third, The Woods went on a 5-2 run, with Prince's bucket inside ending the stretch and tying it at 30 with 1:30 left in the quarter.
The closest the Owls got to the Pirates in the fourth quarter was two points twice, and both instances occurred with under three minutes left. Park led by as much as seven points with 4:38 left in the game, then WWU responded with a 7-2 run. During that stretch, Booker and Dearing got layups to fall before an Atkins three-point play concluded the run, reducing the Owls' deficit to 45-43 with 2:56 remaining. Thirty seconds later, Prince brought Woods' deficit back to two points for the final time on her make in the paint. From there, the Owls were outscored 6-2 to end the matchup.
William Woods totaled 35 rebounds (12 offensive), forced 18 turnovers and made 18-of-47 (38.3 percent) from the field, 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from deep and 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) at the free throw line. Park finished with 36 boards (17 offensive), forced 24 turnovers and converted 18-of-56 field goals (32.1 percent), 2-of-14 3s (14.3 percent) and 15-of-23 free throws (65.2 percent).
The Owls conclude their three-game season-opening road trip when they take on Bethel College (0-2) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Thresher Gym in North Newton, Kan. Last season, Booker posted a double-double (21 points and 15 rebounds) in WWU's 77-56 win over the Threshers Dec. 16 in Fulton.
