FULTON, Mo. -
Jersee Wren had her best offensive game in green and white, tallying a career-high 22 points (7-11 field goals), a career-high 6-6 3-pointers and a tri-team-high three assists as William Woods University (10-14, 8-10 American Midwest Conference) dropped a high-scoring affair 73-65 to Cottey College (16-8, 12-6) Tuesday at Anderson Arena.
Led by Wren's effort from deep, the Owls did well from there as a team, tying their season-high in 3-pointers, going 11-19 (57.9%). It was WWU's most clinical game with that amount of triples, with its previous 11 3-pointer outburst coming at a 39.8% (11-28) clip in a 77-46 triumph over Hannibal-LaGrange University on Dec. 14 in Fulton.Â
In addition to Wren's milestone night,
Sydney Booker posted her seventh double-double on the season with 12 points and 12 boards.
India Atkins also did well on both sides, scoring 10 points (two 3-pointers), pulling down four rebounds, swiping a team-high three steals, dishing out a tri-team-high three assists and going up for one block.
Peyton Dearing made it four Owls reaching double figures in points - one more than the Comets - with 10, and she added a tri-team-high three assists.
After three straight turnovers to begin the contest, WWU capitalized on Atkins' pickpocket. Booker registered a three-point play that started with a putback, sending the Owls in front. Cottey responded with five unanswered points to take a 5-3 advantage.Â
Following that, there were four lead changes and two ties before Woods earned the first of its largest leads in the first at 16-12 on Wren's 3-pointer provided by Atkins with 2:58 remaining in the quarter. After the Comets drained a 3 of their own, 3-point specialist
Katie Keilholz knocked down the first of her three triples to put the Owls back up by four, 19-15.Â
Cottey responded with a 7-1 run to send it ahead 22-20, then Keilholz put a bow on The Woods' 5-5 3-point shooting in the first quarter, splashing in her attempt off Atkins' assist to give the hosts a 23-22 lead after one.
Wren extended the Owls' perfect 3-point shooting start, stroking in her third to make it 26-22 WWU. That was the last of the Owls' three team-high four-point advantages. The Comets also had a shooter's touch Tuesday, and they gained the upper hand at 27-26 7:24 before halftime. Cottey led for a majority of the second, though it remained tight. Woods earned its final lead of the game at 36-35 when Wren finished the team's 7-11 - her flawless 4-4 - half from deep with 1:55 left in the first half. Unfortunately for the Owls, the Comets notched five points without reply to give the visitors a 40-35 cushion at halftime.
Cottey used a 10-4 run in the middle of the third quarter to take the game's first two double-digit leads, holding a 53-42 advantage following the run. After the Comets furthered their lead to 12, there was a flurry of three 3-pointers to end the third. Atkins had two of them from Wren dishes, making her first off a
Layla Young steal with :44 on the clock. Then, Cottey hit a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer before Atkins one-upped the Comets with a buzzer-beating make from well beyond the arc to cut Woods' deficit to single digits heading into the fourth quarter, 60-51.
From 9:05 to 1:54 left in the fourth quarter, the Owls trailed by double digits, but they didn't go down without a fight. Dearing and Booker hit back-to-back layups - Cottey had an inside basket in between them - to reduce Woods' deficit to 72-64 with 1:14 remaining. The score stayed there until Booker made the first of two free throw attempts to put it at 72-65 Comets, but it was too late for WWU to come back despite a valiant offensive outing from the green and white.
The Owls collected 31 rebounds (eight offensive) with 14 second-chance points, tallied 11 points off eight forced turnovers and shot 48.9% (22-25) from the field and 76.9% (10-13) from the free-throw line. The Comets had 25 boards (nine offensive) with two second-chance points, scored 19 points off 20 forced turnovers and converted 49.1% (26-53) from the field, 36.4% (8-22) from deep and 61.9% (13-21) at the stripe.
Weather permitting, William Woods faces another women's college this week, Stephens College (16-8, 13-5 AMC), at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Silverthorne Arena in Columbia. The Owls fell 70-60 to the Stars in their first matchup this season on Jan. 9 in Fulton.
