photo courtesy NAIA.org
A long three-pointer by Shamon Pearson with 2.9 seconds remaining helped No. 2 Bethel (Tenn.) sneak past No. 7 William Woods (Mo.), 62-61, after blowing a 22-point second half lead. Tayla Foster’s 18 first half points helped the Lady Wildcats to a 16-point halftime lead of 38-22.
The Lady Wildcats, particularly Foster, were unstoppable in the first 20 minutes. The senior forward led all scorers with 18 first-half points. Foster had seven rebounds and was 6-for-19 from the floor, including launching 13 three-pointers, making three. At the end of the first half, William Woods had 22 points, outscoring Foster by only four.
The tide turned mid-way through the second half thanks to the Owls forcing turnovers and grabbing defensive rebounds as they managed to tie the game at 53-53 with just under four minutes to play. In fact, the Owls went up by three with 2:24 to play, and led by two Kelsey Scherder drained a deep three-pointer to get her team back ahead, 61-59. On the next possession by Bethel, an offensive rebound led to a shot from the corner for the win.
Williams Woods ends the season with a 23-9 record. Blake French led all Owls with 18 points on the night.
