FULTON, Mo. - William Woods University's (7-10, 5-6 American Midwest Conference)
Katie Keilholz joined rare company, knocking down her 200th career 3-pointer on her first triple Saturday, then adding two more for nine of her 13 points as she overtook Shanna Lonsberry (200 3-pointers; 2002-06) for the fourth-most in Owls history. That was the highlight of the afternoon for WWU, with it falling 88-70 to (RV) Williams Baptist University (16-3, 12-1).
Taking on the Eagles, averaging the second-most points (92.3) in the NAIA after Saturday's contest, the Owls were led by
Peyton Dearing,
Sydney Booker and
Mariah Prince Dearing scored at least 20 points in her second straight game, with a team-high 22 (8-10 free throws), Booker was two rebounds shy of a double-double with 14 points (6-7 free throws) and eight boards and Prince had six points, six rebounds and a team-high four steals.
Williams Baptist opened the game on a 7-2 run, then William Woods posted five points to tie it at 7. Keilholz drained her milestone 200th 3-pointer, assisted by Dearing, to make it 7-all, and that was the only time the Owls didn't trail the Eagles. Just over two minutes later, Keilholz ensured WBU didn't take a double-digit lead just yet, sinking her second shot from deep, provided by Dearing, to put it at 16-11 Eagles. WBU earned its first double-digit advantage at 24-14 with 2:08 left in the first quarter, and then it extended its lead to 30-14 through one quarter.
The Eagles stayed in front comfortably throughout the second quarter, though Dearing notched seven points (one 3-pointer), and Booker went 4-4 at the free-throw line. Booker was the only Owl that got to the charity stripe in the first half, and she went 6-7. Dearing had nine points in the first half, with her final two on her buzzer-beater layup to end the half, which narrowed WWU's deficit to 50-29.
The Owls didn't let Williams Baptist extend its lead too much in the third quarter, and they were down 77-50 heading into the fourth quarter. Keilholz scored the first three points of the fourth, with her third and final 3-pointer, the 202nd of her career, which puts her three away from overtaking Jestine Gerber (2006-07, 2008-11) for the third-most in the WWU record book.
After the Eagles went up 86-60, the Owls responded by tallying 10 points without reply. Five WWU players scored during that run;
India Atkins opened it with one point at the free-throw line, Booker and Prince had two from a layup,
Layla Young two from a jumper and Dearing ended it with three, one on a free throw and two on a layup. WBU added two more points before the final buzzer to seal an 18-point victory.
The Owls collected 38 rebounds (13 offensive) with eight second-chance points, scored 22 points off 20 forced turnovers and shot 36.2% (25-69) from the field, 22.7% (5-22) from 3-point range and 78.9% (15-19) from the free-throw line. The Eagles posted 46 boards (14 offensive) with 14 second-chance points, tallied 29 points off 22 forced turnovers and converted 50.6% (39-77) from the field, 23.1% (6-26) from deep and 66.7% (4-6) from the charity stripe.
William Woods has three games this week, beginning with Cottey College (12-6, 8-4 AMC) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hinkhouse Center in Nevada, Missouri. The matchup was originally scheduled to be played on Jan. 7 but was rescheduled due to winter weather that day.
