FULTON, Mo. — William Woods University (6-6, 4-2 American Midwest Conference) had hot hands from deep, draining its most 3s as a team since Feb. 19, 2022 — also at home against the Trojans — en route to beating Hannibal-LaGrange University (3-9, 0-6) 77-46 Saturday at Anderson Arena.
Guiding the Owls to their impressive 3-pointers made tally were
Peyton Dearing with a career-high 30 points (4-9 3-pointers and 4-4 free throws), WWU's most individual points since
Aiyanna Tanksley posted 30 at Baptist Bible College — now Mission University — Dec. 9, 2023, and
Katie Keilholz, who in the first half alone knocked down five 3s to account for her game total and 15 of her 17 points, made her most shots from deep since she landed seven triples at Central Baptist College Dec. 17 last season.
"Today, we faced some adversity with only having seven girls available, but we overcame that and had a great performance," William Woods women's basketball coach
Terry Nash said. "It's always great to go into holiday break with a win and momentum. The ladies deserve a break mentally and physically. I am proud of this group and excited to see what the rest of the season holds for us."
While Dearing and Keilholz were the two Owls getting it done offensively,
India Atkins played WWU's most complete game. Registering her first double-double for William Woods, Atkins posted 16 points (7-8 free throws), 11 rebounds (team-high), five assists (game-high) and six steals — her most swipes as an Owl. The Woods' spectacular performances didn't stop there as
Ruthie Brown pulled down a career-high 10 boards (two offensive).
In the first quarter, the Owls took the lead for good on their opening possession when
Sydney Booker hit an end-to-end layup off her steal, and they went up by as much as seven points twice. The first instance occurred when Dearing sank a 3-pointer to cap a 9-2 WWU run to begin the contest; on the possession before Dearing's triple, Keilholz made her first attempt from beyond the arc. After neither team scored for 3:55 late in the first quarter, Keilholz's second 3-pointer gave the Owls their second seven-point lead, at 16-9, with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Keeping up its offensive onslaught, William Woods extended its lead to 21 points with 45 seconds left in the second quarter. To get there, the Owls tallied 13 unanswered points, six from two Keilholz 3-pointers and five from Dearing, with her three-point play concluding the run and putting WWU up 40-19. AMC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week, HLGU's Ivy Lesley, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, ended the first-half scoring with a jumper to bring it to a 40-21 Owls advantage at halftime.
Remaining dominant, William Woods got its lead up to 31 points with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter. The Owls took that significant advantage thanks to their 15-1 run, with Atkins recording seven points, including five from the free-throw line. Lesley totaled five of the Trojans' final six points in the third, and her jumper with less than a second left in the quarter cut the visitor's deficit to 60-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
William Woods started the fourth quarter strong offensively and took its largest lead of the contest at 41 points (73-32) with 6:28 left. Going on their second 13-0 run of the game, the Owls'
Brooklyn Dougherty began the scoring surge with a 3-pointer, Dearing had five points in the stretch and Brown's layup from her defensive rebound sent WWU in front by 41. Already holding too large of a lead for HLGU to overcome, Woods slowed its offense down and only tacked on four more points; Dearing's layup with 35 seconds left was the game's final basket and secured a 31-point Owls win.
Overall, William Woods collected 44 rebounds (18 offensive) with 12 second-chance points, scored 26 points off 19 forced turnovers and went 26-70 (37.1 percent) from the field, 11-28 (39.3 percent) from 3-point range and 14-18 (77.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Hannibal-LaGrange recorded 39 boards (10 offensive) with seven second-chance points, tallied four points off five forced turnovers and converted 18-51 (35.3 percent) field goals, 2-15 (13.3 percent) 3-pointers and 8-15 (53.3 percent) free throws.
The Owls have an exciting road trip to Cape Girardeau to play NCAA Division I Southeast Missouri State University (1-6) at noon on Dec. 31 at Show Me Center. While it'll be an exhibition matchup for WWU, it'll be an official game for the Redhawks.
