FULTON, Mo. - William Woods University (7-9, 5-5 American Midwest Conference) led by as much as 10 points and were in front with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. However, Central Baptist College (8-8, 6-4) knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go in regulation before snatching a 76-69 double overtime victory over the Owls Thursday in front of a filled to the brim Anderson Arena.
Guiding WWU's offense,
Peyton Dearing scored 20 points (6-8 free throws), her second-most points as an Owl in her second and final season with the program, and
Katie Keilholz put on a 3-point shooting clinic in the first half, sinking all five of her season-high five triples in eight attempts to account for all of her 15 points. With that, Keilholz is one 3-pointer away from becoming the fifth Owl to drain 200 shots from beyond the arc in green and white, which would tie her for fourth all-time with Shanna Lonsberry (2002-06) and put her five away from surpassing Jestine Gerber's (2006-07, 08-11) 204 for third in the record book.
It wasn't just those two standing out for WWU on the night, as
Mariah Prince pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds - she surpassed her previous best by four boards - and added 10 points and a team-high four steals.
The Mustangs were off to the races to begin the contest, posting the first six points without reply before a Prince layup halted the run to bring it to a 6-2 Central Baptist lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter. Answering, the Owls went on an 8-3 run to go up 10-9 on Keilholz's 3-pointer assisted by Dearing, who landed a triple on the previous WWU possession. Keilholz and Dearing made another 3-pointer to give them two each in the first quarter, which helped the Owls to a 17-12 advantage through one quarter.
Unfortunately for William Woods, Central Baptist began the second quarter by tallying five unanswered points to even it at 17. Then, the Owls recorded the following eight points, six from two Keilholz 3-pointers, to take a 25-17 lead. Just under two minutes later, WWU went up by its widest margin, 29-19, on Dearing's 3-pointer with 5:26 left before halftime. The Owls remained ahead for the rest of the first half, but they were outscored 10-3 by the Mustangs after Dearing's make from deep, which made it 32-29 WWU at halftime.
To begin the third quarter, the Owls stayed on top, stretching their lead to six points, 38-32, after
India Atkins collected a defensive rebound and hit a layup provided by Prince. Eventually, Central Baptist took its first lead of the second half thanks to Aliya Grotjohn's personal 5-0 run that began with a 3-pointer and ended with a layup, which put it at 44-43 Mustangs with 1:52 left in the third quarter. Following a cold spell by both teams, Dearing handed The Woods a 46-44 lead through three quarters on her triple with :21 remaining in the quarter.
Carrying that momentum over to the fourth quarter, the Owls opened the quarter on a 9-3 run to further their lead to 55-47 on Prince's free throw after
Jersee Wren stole it from CBC on the defensive end with 5:15 left. Following that, WWU scored just three more points in regulation while giving up 11, with the Mustangs sending it to overtime and tying it at 58 on Riley Whittington's 3-pointer with :11 remaining.
In the first overtime, neither team led by more than three points, and the Owls earned that advantage - twice. WWU went up by three points for the first time at 61-58 on Dearing's free throw following her steal. Dearing also handed the Owls their second three-point lead, cashing in two free throws to make it 65-62 Woods with :16 to go. Eight seconds later, Raigan Head launched a 3-pointer into the hoop to knot it at 65 for CBC. The Mustangs had an opportunity to clinch the win at the free-throw line with no time left in the first overtime, but the raucous Owls fans caused them to miss both attempts and extend it to double overtime.
Unlike the first overtime, a team went up by multiple possessions, and unluckily for WWU, it was CBC. Head handed the Mustangs their first two-possession lead on her layup, making it 70-65 CBC. Then,
India Atkins scored the first two of WWU's four points in the second overtime, swishing in two free throws to cut it to 70-67 Mustangs. Head got to the charity stripe and brought CBC back up by five points, 72-67, converting her two free throws with 2:29 left. Wren finished the Owls' scoring, converting two free throws to reduce their deficit to 72-69 with :49 remaining. From there, the Mustangs made four free throws over their final two drives and held WWU scoreless on its last possession to seal a seven-point win.
The Owls collected a season-high 50 rebounds (12 offensive) with six second-chance points, scored 26 points off 26 forced turnovers and shot 31.4% (22-70) from the field, 34.6% (9-26) from 3-point range and 61.5% (16-26) from the free-throw line. The Mustangs recorded 51 rebounds (11 offensive) with 12 second-chance points, tallied 19 points off 24 forced turnovers and converted 35.6% (26-73) from the field, 9-34 (26.5%) from deep and 71.4% (15-21) from the charity stripe.
William Woods wraps up its three-game homestand, facing Williams Baptist University (15-3, 11-1 AMC) at 1 p.m. Saturday. In their first meeting this season, the Eagles beat the Owls 100-67 on Nov. 23 in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.
