FULTON, Mo. - Peyton Dearing and
Mariah Prince racked up 10 points each to lead the William Woods (13-13, 7-10 AMC) offense on Thursday night, but it was not enough to overcome a sloppy first quarter against Central Baptist College (6-17, 5-12 AMC), as the Owls fell 50-41.
Woods mustered just one field goal in 10 attempts in the first quarter - a layup by
Natalie Thomas with just under a minute elapsed - and connected on three of four trips to the foul line. Central Baptist was able to capitalize on the slow start by WWU, racking 17 points in the opening 10 minutes.
After allowing the Mustangs to hit at nearly a 40 percent pace in the first quarter, Woods was able to tighten up defensively in the second quarter, limiting the visitors to just two field goals and two free throws. Unfortunately for the hosts, the Owls weren't able to find their stride, only managing to close the deficit by two - 24-14 - going into the locker room at half.
Woods managed to nip one more point off the deficit in the third quarter, closing to 34-25, but couldn't match CBC's 50-percent shooting pace in the fourth quarter. An 11-of-12 performance from the free throw line - including a perfect 6-for-6 by Dearing - was the only thing that kept WWU in the game.
Central Baptist dominated the rebounding battle 47-39, including a 14-9 edge on the offensive glass that the Mustangs converted into a 16-5 scoring edge.
The Owls wrap up the regular season on Saturday, hosting Williams Baptist. Before the 1 p.m. tipoff, we will recognize four student-athletes that will be playing their final contest in Anderson Arena.
