RIVERSIDE, Mo. - Scoring all their points in the second half, the No. 4 seed Owls of William Woods University (13-5) had great defense throughout, shutting out the No. 5 seed Moundbuilders of Southwestern College (6-7) in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday at KC Current/The University of Kansas Health System Training Center.
"Today was an absolute battle," William Woods flag football coach
Charlie Holloway said. "Little mistakes hurt us, but our defense stepped up in a big way. Once we were able to put on the board, the girls settled in and played their game. On to the semis!"
A team-wide tremendous effort on the defensive side,
Jayden Jalbert's masterclass guided The Woods as she pulled a game-high eight flags, one being a tackle for loss, and snatched a game-high two interceptions. A trio of Owls were menaces toward the Moundbuilders in the trenches, with
Kennedy Vannoy (five tackles; two tackles for loss),
Olivia Perkins (four tackles; one tackle for loss) and
Evonne Bruestle (three tackles; game-high three tackles for loss) each registering a sack.
Offensively,
Addie Chilek stood out most for William Woods with a game-high eight receptions for a game-high 88 yards and one touchdown.
Olivia Perkins snagged the first of two Owls' touchdown catches with 3:36 left in the third quarter, hauling in a 9-yard pass from
Makenzie Hicks. Woods's signal-caller showcased her arm strength on her second and final touchdown pass, finishing off the 12-point victory with her game-high 46-yard completion to Chilek with 3:28 remaining in the fourth.
Hicks went 19-for-32 (59.4%) through the air for 160 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
On special teams, WWU's
Madi Jones cleared more than half the 80-yard field on her game-high 50-yard punt, and she totaled four punts for 146 yards, including two inside the 20-yard line.
For the game, the Owls recorded 157 yards of offense (160 passing yards and -3 rushing yards), scored two passing touchdowns, intercepted three passes and had five penalties for 40 yards. Southwestern tallied 139 yards of offense (126 passing yards and 13 rushing yards), intercepted two passes with 29 return yards and had nine penalties for 56 yards.
Matching up for the all-important third time this season, William Woods takes on No. 1 seed Ottawa University (16-0), winners of the first four NAIA National Championships, in the KCAC Tournament semifinals at noon Saturday.
