William Woods University junior guard Peyton Greenlee tallied a game-high 22 points and the Lady Owls opened American Midwest Conference play with a 75-68 win over Park University on Thursday night at Anderson Arena.
William Woods (4-2) trailed 37-32 at halftime, but outscored Park 21-10 in the third quarter to stop a two-game losing streak.
The Lady Pirates scored the first three points of the third quarter to stretch their advantage to eight. The Lady Owls, though, countered with a 13-3 run to go in front, taking a 45-42 lead when sophomore guard Tori Nesslage made one-of-two free throws with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the quarter.
After Park pulled within a point, William Woods relied on an 8-1 run to expand its lead. Senior forward Sommer Burgard converted a pair of free throws to put the Lady Owls up 53-45 with 1:01 to play in the period.
William Woods led by as many as 16 points, 67-51, on junior guard Ashleigh Frampton's basket in the paint with 6:17 remaining in the game. The Lady Pirates came up with a 14-3 run to close within 70-65 with 1:12 to go, but the Lady Owls were able to finish off the victory.
Greenlee - who knocked down all nine of her free throws - guided four players in double figures for William Woods, which shot 44 percent (21-of-48) from the field and overcame 23 turnovers. Junior guard Kaycee Gerald provided 20 points, while Nesslage and Burgard both came off the bench to contribute 11 and 10, respectively.
Burgard shared game-high honors with nine rebounds as the Lady Owls were edged on the boards 40-39.
Sarah Lamp scored 15 points as the only player to reach double figures for Park, which shot just 36 percent (24-of-66) as a team and committed 23 turnovers. Lamp also collected nine rebounds.
William Woods travels to Columbia for an AMC matchup against Stephens College at 1 p.m. Saturday.