Senior guard Kaycee Gerald tallied 16 points as the No. 4 seed Lady Owls turned back the No. 5 Lady Eagles 71-54 in the quarterfinals of the American Midwest Conference Championship on Thursday night at Anderson Arena.
The victory was the third straight for No. 25 William Woods University (25-6), which advances to a semifinal matchup at top-seeded Lyon (Ark.) College at 3 p.m. Saturday. Lyon (28-2) moved on by outlasting No. 8 seed Central Baptist (Ark.) College in a 77-70 quarterfinal win Thursday night.
The Lady Owls - who swept Williams Baptist (Ark.) University during the regular season - built a 23-16 advantage after one quarter Thursday night. William Woods carried a 34-30 edge into halftime and was in front 50-43 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lady Owls then pulled away by outscoring the Lady Eagles 21-11 over the final 10 minutes.
Gerald was one of four players to reach double figures for William Woods, which shot just 35 percent (22-of-63) from the field. Senior guard Peyton Greenlee and sophomore guard Rylie Cox supplied 14 points apiece, while senior guard Ashleigh Frampton contributed 11.
Gerald completed a double-double by collecting a game-high 11 rebounds to power the Lady Owls to a 49-36 advantage on the boards.
Tasia Bland logged 16 points to pace Williams Baptist, which ended its season with a 19-11 record. Taylor Freeman added 12 points for the Lady Eagles, who shot only 31 percent (19-of-61) as a team.
William Woods lost both of its meetings with No. 11 Lyon during the regular season. The Lady Owls bowed at Lyon 53-34 on Dec. 21, then fell to the Lady Scots 62-56 on Feb. 8 in Fulton.