CONWAY, Ark. - Despite a game-high 27 points from freshman guard Natalie Thomas, the Lady Owls bowed to the Lady Mustangs in an American Midwest Conference loss Friday afternoon.
The loss was the second straight for William Woods University (4-10, 4-10 AMC), which had defeated Central Baptist College 56-47 on Feb. 11 in Fulton. The Lady Mustangs improved to 10-5 on the season and 5-5 in the AMC with Friday's victory.
The Lady Owls were only down 33-32 at halftime, but fell behind by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. William Woods, though, finished the period with a furious 13-2 run over the final 3 minutes, 50 seconds, closing within 52-48 when Thomas knocked down two free throws with :35 left.
Senior guard Tori Nesslage's 3-pointer with 9:39 to play in the game brought the Lady Owls within 52-51, but the Lady Mustangs countered with a 17-5 run to take control.
Thomas was 7-of-14 from behind the arc to lead two players in double figures for William Woods. Nesslage finished 6-of-9 from the field in logging 18 points as the Lady Owls shot only 39% (22-of-57) as a team.
Junior forward Kasey Hazell grabbed a team-high six rebounds as William Woods was outrebounded 48-32. The Lady Owls were outscored 24-7 on second-chance points.
Holly Allen scored 23 points to spark three players in double figures for Central Baptist, which shot just 39% (27-of-69) from the field. Alexis Augustus followed with 17 points and Grace Coates chipped in with 14.
William Woods will play its third road game in as many days when it closes out the regular season with a trip to Hannibal-LaGrange University for an AMC contest at 1 p.m. today.