William Woods University senior forward Makenzie Fessler supplied a game-high 15 points as the No. 8 seed Owls roughed up No. 9 Harris-Stowe State University 70-40 in the opening round of the American Midwest Conference championship Tuesday night at Anderson Arena.
William Woods University (7-7) had not played in more than two weeks due to a COVID-19 quarantine. The Owls last played Feb. 6, a 72-62 AMC victory over Harris-Stowe in St. Louis.
William Woods will now move on to a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 seed Lyon (Ark.) College (10-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Owls bowed at Lyon 65-51 on Jan. 16.
William Woods went into halftime Tuesday night with a 29-19 lead and pulled away in the second half by outscoring Harris-Stowe 41-21.
Sophomore forward Jared Crutcher contributed 11 points for the Owls, who shot 46% (28-of-61) from the field. Crutcher also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to help power William Woods to a 45-35 edge on the boards.
The Owls outscored the Hornets 32-20 in the paint.
Riley Barnes and Isaiah Dicks both had 10 points for Harris-Stowe (1-9), which shot a dismal 27% (16-of-60).