POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Cassidy Johnson tallied 19 points Monday night as nationally-ranked College of the Ozarks turned back William Woods University 70-67 to hand the Lady Owls their second straight loss.
William Woods (1-2) took a 34-29 advantage into halftime and opened up a seven-point edge behind freshman guard Peyton Greenlee's basket in the paint with 9 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter. College of the Ozarks (5-0) - ranked No. 7 in NAIA Division II - answered with an 11-4 run and took a 40-38 lead when Shelby Roberts knocked down a pair of free throws at the 6:10 mark.
The Lady Bobcats outscored the Lady Owls 22-14 in the period and carried a 51-48 edge into the fourth quarter. College of the Ozarks then took control behind an 8-0 run at the start of the period and led by 11 points on three different occasions before settling for the three-point win.
Freshman guard Kaycee Gerald connected for 19 points to direct four players in double figures for William Woods, which shot 41 percent (26-of-64) from the field. Senior forward Kelsey Scherder also provided 18 points and Greenlee and senior center Kennedy Volkart both contributed 10.
Greenlee pulled down 10 rebounds to power the Lady Owls to a 41-37 advantage on the boards.
Johnson was one of four players to reach double figures for College of the Ozarks, which shot 40 percent (27-of-68) as a team. Lakin Simmerman logged 15 points, Kelsie Cleeton contributed 13 and Roberts finished with 11.
William Woods will look to get back on track when it plays its home opener against Graceland (Iowa) University at 6 p.m. Thursday at Anderson Arena.