FULTON, Mo. - India Atkins scored 24 points (6-9 field goals and 11-14 free throws), her most as an Owl, and added a team-high six rebounds and four assists as William Woods University (5-5, 3-1 American Midwest Conference) won handily, 83-56 over Harris-Stowe State University (2-5, 1-3) Saturday at Anderson Arena. The Owls posted their most points in a game since their high-scoring 91-86 defeat at Baptist Bible College - now Mission University - on Dec. 9 last season.

"Today we finally put a complete game of scoring and defending the way we know how," William Woods women's basketball coach Terry Nash said. "It's nice to see everyone get in the game and actually score the ball. We shot the ball well, too, today. I'm proud of our team and starting conference 3-1. We have a lot of work still to do and the ladies are excited about that."

WWU's ability to get to the free-throw line helped it reach that season-high points tally. The Woods were 26-35 from the charity stripe, 14-19 in the first half, and 12-16 in the second half. While Atkins made the most free throws, Sydney Booker was the most clinical with her number of attempts, going 5-5 for five of her seven points - she added five rebounds.

Another starter with a strong performance was Peyton Dearing, who recorded 12 points, three rebounds and a game-high three steals. Layla Young provided a spark off the bench on both sides, with eight points, four boards, two blocks (team-high) and a steal.

Having all those strong performances, it didn't take long for the Owls to take the lead for good, 1:05 to be exact. Atkins gave WWU that game-deciding advantage, landing a 3-pointer off a Jersee Wren assist to make it 3-2 Owls. Just over two minutes later, Woods went up by its most significant margin in the first quarter when Dearing capped an 8-2 run with a triple assisted by Mariah Prince to put it at 13-6 Owls. HSSU controlled the rest of the first quarter, outscoring WWU 7-5 to bring it to an 18-13 Owls advantage heading into the second quarter.

William Woods continued to get to the line and make shots from deep to help solidify its winning margin in the second quarter, going up by double digits at 27-16 after Booker converted two free throws. Those were the final two of Booker's three free throw makes during the Owls' 9-3 run to begin the second quarter; Booker also hit a layup to give her five points in that stretch, and Dearing knocked down her second and final 3 of the contest. 

Booker wasn't the only Owl getting to the line consistently in the second quarter, as Atkins made five free throws with her final make, giving WWU the first of its two most prominent leads of the first half at 35-22 with 3:26 to go before halftime. It took a team effort for the Owls to go up by 13 points again, with Katie Keilholz stealing the ball from the Hornets before Dearing dished it to Prince, who got her fastbreak layup to fall, which gave The Woods a 37-24 advantage with 1:59 remaining in the first half; HSSU tacked on three points before the break, cutting it to a 37-27 Owls lead through one half.

Three William Woods players scored during its 6-0 run to open the second half, with Atkins and Wren landing a layup each and Booker concluding the stretch by draining two free throws to increase the Owls' advantage to 43-27. WWU remained dominant, holding a 63-41 lead after three quarters thanks to the first of Keilholz's two 3s off the bench in the second half.

The Owls extended their lead to the largest of the game when they scored seven points without reply in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. To start the run, freshman Brooklyn Dougherty launched a 3-pointer into the hoop for her first career basket, and then fellow newcomer Mackenzie Mann went 2-2 from the free-throw line before Dearing went up for an end-to-end layup to end the scoring surge with William Woods on top 82-53 with 1:38 remaining. 

In the matchup, the Owls registered 40 rebounds (15 offensive) with nine second-chance points, scored 26 points off 23 forced turnovers and were 24-60 (40 percent) from the field and 9-24 (37.5 percent) from deep. The Hornets collected 43 boards (17 offensive) with 10 second-chance points, recorded seven points off 10 forced turnovers and hit 23-63 (36.5 percent) field goals, 7-24 (29.2 percent) 3-pointers and 3-7 (42.9 percent) free throws.

Fresh off its best offensive performance this season, William Woods plays the second game of its three-game homestand against rival (RV) Columbia College (8-0, 4-0 AMC) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Read Full Article