FULTON, Mo. - Milestones seemed to be on William Woods University's (11-15, 9-11 American Midwest Conference) mind Saturday as it eclipsed the century mark for the first time in 20 seasons, and
Katie Keilholz knocked down nine from deep to break the program's single-game 3-pointers made record to give herself 226 for her career - the second-most ever for WWU - as the Owls secured a dominant 101-50 victory over Crowley's Ridge College (9-17, 3-17) at Anderson Arena.
"Today was all about the players," William Woods women's basketball coach
Terry Nash said. "They played so well, and hitting 100 points for the first time in over 20 years is amazing for them. Also, congratulations to Katie. Second all-time in 3s made and game record for made 3s. I'm lucky to have coached her these four years."
Playing consistently well offensively, the Owls scored 30 points in the first quarter, 26 in the second, 24 in the third and 21 in the fourth to surpass 100 points in a game for the first time since their 103-41 triumph over St. Louis College of Pharmacy - now University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis - on Dec. 2, 2004.
Keilholz, who went 9-16 from beyond the arc, drained at least one 3-pointer each quarter, sinking two in the first, three in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth to account for all of her career-, game-high 27 points in 29 minutes off the bench.
Sydney Booker had William Woods' most complete game, putting up her eighth double-double this season with 11 points (5-7 field goals) and a co-game-high 10 rebounds while adding three assists and one steal.
Mariah Prince also collected a co-game-high 10 boards,
Peyton Dearing and
Jersee Wren had a co-game-high six assists and
India Atkins tied a Pioneer for a co-game-high four steals.
Win or lose, the Owls have started strong more times than not lately. That happened again Saturday, going on a 10-2 run over the first 2:54 while taking the lead for good at 3-2 on the first of two made free throws by Wren with 8:36 left in the first quarter. Keeping it up, WWU heightened its lead to double digits for the first time at 15-5 on Atkins' jumper with 5:14 to go in the first.
CRC stayed within striking distance of the Owls until who else but Keilholz gave the hosts a double-digit advantage the rest of the way, splashing in her second triple to put it at 25-13 WWU with 1:33 remaining in the first. On the Owls' ensuing drive, Dearing capped Woods' most efficient and productive 3-point shooting quarter, a 4-7 (57.1%) clip, joining Keilholz with a pair of triples and concluding her 10-point first quarter with 1:08 left. Booker matched Keilholz's six points in the first and ended the quarter's scoring on her layup, making it 30-13 Owls.
Booker carried over a personal 5-0 run to begin the second quarter, sending William Woods ahead by at least 20 points for the remainder of the game on her inside basket, giving the Owls a 33-13 advantage with 9:03 left. Just over 30 seconds later,
Layla Young finished WWU's 14-0 run with a 3-pointer assisted by Keilholz to increase the Owls' lead to 36-13.
Keeping its foot on the pedal, William Woods held at least a 30-point cushion throughout the matchup after Keilholz's fifth and final 3-pointer of the first half gave the Owls a 54-24 lead. On top of that, Keilholz overtook Angela Wallace (221 3-pointers; 1999-2003) for the second-most career 3-pointers made in WWU history. An Atkins putback concluded the first-half offensive onslaught as the Owls led 56-24 at the break.
With the game already out of hand, William Woods made it even more so in the third quarter, going up by at least 40 points for good on Booker's layup off her defensive board, which brought the score to 78-38 Owls with 1:47 left. After three quarters, it remained a 40-point (80-40) WWU advantage.
Keilholz knew she needed a big fourth quarter from deep to break Wallace's over 25-year-old single-game 3-pointers made record - Wallace drained eight 3-pointers versus Spalding University Dec. 2, 2000 - and she did just that. To get there, Keilholz scored her seventh 3-pointer with 2:21 remaining, tied WWU's single-game record on the next possession with 1:48 left and achieved the record by knocking down her ninth with 30 seconds left.
Following Keilholz's 3-pointer, the Owls were two points away from the century mark. Prince got them there, sinking a putback before making her and-1 attempt to surpass the 100-point threshold and wrap up a 51-point William Woods win.
The Owls brought down a season-high 53 rebounds (14 offensive) with 15 second-chance points, scored 20 points off 15 forced turnovers and made a season-high 38-77 (49.4%) from the field - their most since going 38-74 (51.4%) versus Stephens College Nov. 16, 2017 - a season-high 14-34 (41.2%) from 3-point range - their most since converting 16-35 (45.7%) versus St. Louis Pharmacy Dec. 29, 2016 - and went 11-13 (84.6%) at the free-throw line. WWU also posted a season-high 23 assists - its most since dishing out 23 against Williams Baptist University Feb. 22, 2020 - and it went up for four blocks, tying its season-high for the fourth time.
Meanwhile, the Pioneers pulled down 33 rebounds (six offensive) with three second-chance points, tallied 10 points off eight forced turnovers and converted 28.6% (18-63) from the field, 15.6% (5-32) from deep and 81.8% (9-11) from the line.
William Woods looks to impress its home crowd one more time, hosting rival Missouri Baptist University (8-18, 8-12 AMC) on Senior Night at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. In what was Nash's 100th game at the helm, the Owls won their last contest against the Spartans, 47-45, Jan. 16 in Creve Couer.
