The No. 16 William Woods University Lady Owls, after watching a 12-point halftime lead vanish, rallied for a 64-61 victory over Benedictine (Kan.) College in Wednesday night's season opener at Anderson Arena.
William Woods went into the break with a 37-25 advantage, but fell behind by as many as seven points in the second half as Benedictine knocked down 6-of-12 3-pointers during that span.
The Lady Owls came back to take the lead for good on junior guard Sharron Andrews' layup with 1 minute, 57 seconds to play. The Lady Ravens had one last chance to tie the game and force overtime, but Kelsey Wolfe's 3-point attempt was partially blocked by William Woods senior guard Jill Sutton as time expired.
Andrews - who did not commit any turnovers in the contest - topped the Lady Owls with 15 points and seven steals. Senior forward Rachel Baker also supplied 12 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals.
William Woods shot 44 percent (24-of-55) as a team and finished with just 11 turnovers. The Lady Owls easily outrebounded Benedictine by a 47-32 margin.
Jillian Flores was the only player to reach double figures for the Lady Ravens, ending up with 10 points. Benedictine shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field and committed 27 turnovers.
William Woods opens play in the Central Methodist University Classic against Culver-Stockton College at 5:30 p.m. today. The Lady Owls continue tournament action against Central Methodist at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Central Methodist........................85
William Woods basketball (M)....71
FAYETTE - The Owls dropped to 0-2 on the season after Wednesday night's 14-point loss to the Eagles.
William Woods University, which lost its season opener to Avila University 77-67 on Monday night in Fulton, trailed 43-32 at halftime Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Logan Decker tallied a game-high 24 points to guide two players in double figures for the Owls. Decker was 7-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and made all seven of his free-throw attempts.
Freshman guard Jonathon Nutt added 13 points for William Woods, which shot 45 percent (21-of-47) from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Junior forward Caleb Parry grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Owls, who were edged on the boards 35-33.
Jake Clark countered with 19 points to direct three players in double figures for Central Methodist University, which was playing its season opener. Mike Regan followed with 17 points and Derek Kitch chipped in with 10 for the Eagles, who shot 49 percent (28-of-57) from the field and logged 13 turnovers.
William Woods travels to Springfield for a matchup against Central Baptist College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Lady Blue Jays' Berry earns
SLIAC volleyball acclaim
Westminster College's Alex Berry has been named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball defensive player of the week for Oct. 25-31.
Berry - a sophomore outside hitter from St. Louis - earned the honor for the second time this season. She totalled 56 digs, six blocks, 18 kills, 10 set assists and seven aces in three matches last week.
In a five-set loss to Greenville (Ill.) College in the Westminster triangular on Oct. 30, Berry recorded 26 digs and two block assists. She also tallied 18 digs, two blocks, four aces and eight kills in a 25-22, 25-15 and 25-12 victory over Principia (Ill.) College at the triangular.
Berry posted 12 digs and two solo blocks in the Lady Blue Jays' three-set loss at Stephens College on Oct. 26.