FULTON, Mo. - Assigned with guarding one of the best players in the American Midwest Conference, Mission University's (12-3, 9-2 AMC) Heaven Shockley, William Woods University's (7-8, 5-4)
Sydney Booker finished three assists shy of a triple-double with 20 points (game-high 6-6 free throws), a game-high 15 rebounds and seven assists; Shockley had 16 points, 11 boards and two assists. Despite having a better performance from their star post player, the Owls dropped a tight 70-65 decision to the Patriots Saturday at Anderson Arena.
After winning 47-45 at Missouri Baptist University Thursday, WWU knew it needed to pick it up offensively. The Owls did that early Saturday, tying their season-high in first-quarter points with 22 and shot 56.3% (9-16) from the field - 18.8% higher than its second-best quarter field goal percentage in the matchup.
Jersee Wren ignited Woods' offense with her clinical shooting in the first quarter, tallying 12 of her 14 points and going 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from 3-point range.
In a back-and-forth first, Mission controlled play early, led by a half-high four points (11-7) with 6:40 to go in the quarter. Once the Owls figured out ways to get through the Patriots' full-court press, they went on a 7-2 run to take their first lead, coming from none other than Wren, who pulled down an offensive rebound and knocked down a 3-pointer in transition to put it at 14-13 WWU with 3:56 left in the first quarter. The two teams exchanged basket after basket until the Owls scored in two straight possessions while keeping Mission from scoring. Booker made a layup assisted by
Katie Keilholz, and Wren landed a jumper to send Woods ahead 22-19 through one quarter.
The Patriots scored the first five points of the second quarter to take the lead, but the Owls went back on top, 25-24, thanks to the first of two Keilholz 3-pointers in the contest. Mission answered on its ensuing possession. Then, Keilholz and
Peyton Dearing hit layups in two successive drives to give William Woods the second of its team-high three-point advantages at 29-26 with 7:12 before halftime. Mission tied it at 29 before Booker put the Owls in front for the final time in the first half, 31-29, with her signature post move off a Dearing assist. Following that, the Patriots ended the second quarter on an 8-4 run as WWU trailed 38-35 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, the Owls started the third strong, but they struggled to get their shots to fall for most of the quarter. After Mission went up by 42-35, WWU registered eight points without reply to earn the first of their two leads in the second half at 43-42. Four Owls made a 2-pointer during that stretch, beginning with
India Atkins, followed by
Mariah Prince, Dearing and Booker. The Patriots responded with a 2-pointer of their own on their next possession, and soon after that, The Woods gained the lead for the final time - 45-44, with 6:01 left in the third quarter - on a Prince end-to-end bucket from her steal. From there, Mission looked like what its record showed, going on a 14-5 run to cap the third up 59-49.
Down 10 points with 10 minutes left, the Owls could've allowed the Patriots to keep adding on to their lead, but they only let Mission further it to 12 points before eventually trimming it to a one-possession game twice. To cut its deficit to within one possession for the first time, WWU scored six unanswered points over three drives on a Booker layup, Wren jumper and Keilholz inside basket, which brought it to a 65-62 Patriots lead with 4:45 remaining. Just over a minute later, Keilholz reduced the Owls' deficit to two points (67-65) with her three-point play that began with a layup provided by Booker. Unable to keep its momentum, WWU was held off the scoreboard over the final 3:36.
The Owls notched 44 rebounds (15 offensive) with 11 second-chance points, scored 10 points off 12 forced turnovers and shot 36.5% (27-74) from the field, 17.4% (4-23) from 3-point range and 87.5% (7-8) from the free-throw line. The Patriots posted 41 boards (eight offensive) with seven second-chance points, tallied 15 points off 12 forced turnovers and converted 44.3% (27-61) from the field, 25% (3-12) from deep and 68.4% (13-19) from the charity stripe.
William Wood plays the second game of its three-game homestand against Central Baptist College (7-8, 5-6 AMC) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. In their first meeting this season, the Owls topped the Mustangs 73-58 on Nov. 21 in Conway, Arkansas.
