FULTON, Mo. - Natalie Thomas scored 20 points for William Woods (13-14, 7-11 AMC) on her senior night outing, but a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Owls came too late against Williams Baptist (22-5, 15-3 AMC) as WWU fell 77-58 on Saturday.
Neither team opened the contest particularly well. WBU turned the ball over on its first possession and Charmen Taylor missing both free throws after drawing a foul at the 9:20 mark. Thomas missed a jumper on the first possession for the Owls, before a turnover led to the first bucket of the game for WBU.
The pick and layup by Monica Horne sparked the Eagles to an early 8-2 run that Woods was unable to answer. Williams Baptist rode a 60.0 percent (9-15) shooting wave to a 23-13 first quarter lead, as WWU managed just 4-16 shooting (2-6 from three) in the first 10 minutes.
WWU was able to step it up on defense, holding the Eagles to 36.8 percent shooting in the second quarter and below 30 percent in the second half. Unfortunately, the Woods offense wasn't able to capitalize, hitting just two field goals in 16 tries in the second quarter.
The Owls trailed 42-21 at halftime, then despite a 6-0 run from
Peyton Dearing and Thomas, trailed 62-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
Woods was able to continue the run and close the gap to 68-48 with 5:38 left, but the comeback surge faded.
The Owls finish the regular season as the no. 7 seed for the 2024 AMC Women's Basketball Tournament presented by Tandem HR. WWU is first on the court for Friday's quarterfinal contest, taking on no. 2 seed Stephens at noon. Columbia College plays host to the tournament after earning the no. 1 seed and the AMC Regular Season Championship.
