FULTON, Mo. -- Despite trailing by as many as 13 points, the Bellevue University women's basketball rallied to defeat William Woods University 63-60 on Friday evening at Anderson Arena.
Bellevue improves to 5-1 with the victory while William Woods falls to 2-4 on the year.
Bellevue shot just 1-6 from three and had four turnovers in the first quarter including one in the final seconds of the period. Despite that, Bellevue led 17-12 with 1:57 left the in the quarter but William Woods used a 10-1 run to close the quarter with Jersee Wren heaving a halfcourt shot at the buzzer giving the Owls a 22-18 lead after one.
The Bruins responded by scoring the first five points of the second quarter with Ashtyn Arnold burying a wide-open three-pointer, prompting a quick timeout by Owl coach Terry Nash. After WWU took the lead, Bellevue tied things up on a free throw from Josias Mickens with 4:49 to play in the half but the Owls again went on a big run to close out the quarter, out-scoring BU 15-2 before Arnold connected on a jumper with 37 seconds left to account for a 41-30 halftime deficit.
Zakiyyah Muhammad led BU with 10 points at the half and Arnold added eight for the Bruins who shots just 36% from the floor and committed nine turnovers.
Layla Young, who had just seven points on the season entering Friday's game, paced William Woods with 16 points and Wren added for the Owls who shot 41% from the floor and committed just five turnovers.
William Woods scored 13 points off BU's nine turnovers while the Bruins managed just four points as the result of WWU turnovers.
The Bruins started the third quarter strong, cutting the William Woods lead to just five points after a 6-0 run that saw Gabby Moore, who was held to just five points in the first half, get going with a pair of layups. WWU pushed their lead back out to eight points, 50-42, after three quarters of play.
An 8-0 Bruin run, capped by a layup from Moore, tied the game, for the first time since midway through the second quarter, with 8:02 to play before William Woods used a timeout. After a pair of defensive stops, Muhammad and Arnold made back-to-back paint jumpers put BU ahead 54-50. BU grew their lead to as many as six points on a pair of free throws from Muhammad with 3:06 to play.
Mariah Prince was fouled on a lay-up but missed the free throw to make it a two-point game with 1:29 to play. Empty possessions by both sides saw BU with the ball and Moore drove to the lane drawing a foul where she hit both shots at the line for put BU back up by four, 62-58, with 37.9 seconds to play.
After William Woods used their final timeout, India Atkins dribbled the ball off her foot and out of bounds for a turnover. Bellevue turned it over at the other end and Young put up a lay-up to make it a two-point game.
Arnold drew a foul with 12.3 seconds left and made one of two shots at the line to put the Bruins ahead 63-60. Wren threw up an off-balanced shot from the wing at the buzzer but it drew iron and fell to the floor as time expired.
Muhammad finished with a team-high 18 for the Bruins and was joined in double figures by Arnold and Moore with 17 and 13, respectively. Mickens finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and a pair of steals.
Young finished with a game-high 21 to pace William Woods and Wren added 17 points. Sydney Booker finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Bellevue held William Woods to just 32% shooting and no three-pointers in the second half while forcing the Owls into 12 turnovers.
The Bruins shot 67% in the fourth quarter, going 9-12 at the free throw line, and finished the second half 15-of-18 at the charity stripe.
Bellevue travels to Vermillion, S.D. on Monday, Nov. 18 for an 11 a.m. exhibition contest against the University of South Dakota. The Bruins return to regular season play on Tuesday, Nov. 26 with a 5:30 p.m. tip in Salina, Kan. against Kansas Wesleyan University.
