INDEPENDENCE - The William Woods University Lady Owls weren't able to pull off one of those talked-about tournament upsets.
Alyssa Ward tallied a game-high 18 points to guide five players in double figures and Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) - the No. 1 overall seed - overpowered William Woods 82-52 in the first round of the NAIA Division I women's basketball national championship Wednesday afternoon at Silverstein Eye Center Arena.
The Lady Owls, an eighth seed, ended their season with a 21-11 record. William Woods was making its eighth straight appearance in the national tournament and ninth overall.
Our Lady of the Lake (30-2) - making its fifth consecutive trip to the national tournament - extended its winning streak to an extraordinary 30 games in advancing. The Lady Saints will meet No. 5 Benedictine (Kan.) (27-6) in the second round at 10:45 a.m. Friday.
Our Lady of the Lake was in charge from the start Wednesday, bolting to a 23-5 lead over the Lady Owls after one quarter. The Lady Saints then pushed their advantage to 29-8 on a basket from Ward with 6 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half.
William Woods made an attempt to get back into the contest by responding with a 9-0 run to trim its deficit. Junior center Kennedy Volkart scored in the paint to bring the Lady Owls within 29-17 at the 4:06 mark.
Our Lady of the Lake, though, interrupted William Woods' momentum by scoring four unanswered points and eventually carried a 37-22 lead into halftime. The Lady Saints then started the second half with a 9-2 run to gain even more separation, opening up a 46-24 advantage with 7:38 to play in the third quarter.
The Lady Owls were down 62-37 going to the fourth quarter and trailed by as many as 32 points in the final 10 minutes.
Senior guard Julia Wells - who was 5-of-9 from the field - finished with 10 points as the only William Woods player to reach double figures. Wells posted a double-double by also grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds to lift the Lady Owls to a 47-45 edge on the boards.
Senior guard Marissa Webb, junior guard April Gebke and freshman guard Bailey Rollins scored seven points apiece as William Woods shot just 33 percent (19-of-58) as a team. The Lady Owls also committed 31 turnovers, which Our Lady of the Lake converted into 28 points.
Nakia Page added 16 points for the Lady Saints, who shot only 38 percent (30-of-79) from the field. Daniella Nopuente also supplied 12 points, Julia Rendon had 11 and Taylor Hamilton contributed 10. Our Lady of the Lake outscored William Woods 23-2 in fast-break points and 40-24 in the paint.