COLUMBIA - The Lady Owls outscored the Stars 15-4 over the final 4 minutes, 55 seconds to take control in their American Midwest Conference victory Thursday night.
William Woods University (12-7, 9-4 AMC) - which manhandled Stephens College 99-72 on Nov. 16 in Fulton - needed the late outburst Thursday night to secure its fourth consecutive victory. The Lady Owls carried a 43-34 edge to the fourth quarter, but Stephens (3-15, 2-12) responded with a 9-2 run to close the gap.
Briana Clark buried a 3-pointer to bring the Stars within 45-43 with 6:32 to play in the game. Senior guard Jasmine Brown triggered William Woods' pivotal run by converting 1-of-2 free throws with 4:55 remaining.
Sophomore guard Peyton Greenlee connected on a 3 at the 2:19 mark and then scored off a putback to extend the Lady Owls' advantage to 54-45 with 2:02 left. William Woods clinched the win by making 6-of-8 free throws in the last 1:16.
Greenlee - who was 7-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range - tallied 18 points to direct the Lady Owls, who shot a lackluster 37 percent (20-of-54) as a team. Junior forward Sommer Burgard chipped in with 17 points and sophomore guard Kaycee Gerald - who was named AMC player of the week Monday - added 11.
Gerald rounded out a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds as William Woods was edged on the boards 40-38.
Makenzie Jemes also finished with 18 points to lead Stephens, which shot just 36 percent (21-of-58) from the field. Clark contributed 13 points.
The Lady Owls host Park University in an AMC contest at 1 p.m. Saturday at Anderson Arena. The Lady Pirates (4-12, 4-9) lost to Missouri Baptist University 69-62 on Thursday night in St. Louis.
William Woods rolled to a 74-56 victory over Park on Nov. 18 in Parkville.