Box Score BATESVILLE, Ark. – A furious second-half comeback bid by The W women's basketball came up a little short in a n 80-76 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) loss at Lyon College at Becknell Gym. The Owls fell to 1-10 overall (0-4 SLIAC), while the Scots improved to 5-6 on the year (2-2 SLIAC).
MUW found itself trailing by just a single point after the first quarter, 23-22. However, it took the Owls more than three minutes into the second segment to get on the board, resulting in a 49-38 halftime deficit. That Lyon advantage ballooned to 16 points – 64-48 – with 4:04 left to play in the third.
But at that point, The W began to surge back thanks to its pressing defense. A bucket by
Reshya Hudson with 25 seconds left in the third got to Owls to within six, 67-61, heading into the final stanza. MUW kept chipping away and, with just 1:28 left to play,
Calysia Phillips got a steal and layup to knot the game at 76-76, forcing a Scots' timeout.
With 1:10 showing on the clock, Lyon converted a pair of free throws to lead 78-76. The W had three possession in the final minute, but failed to convert any of them (resulting in a missed layup, missed three-pointer and a turnover), as the Scots withstood the MUW effort.
Phillips led the Owls with 23 points, hitting 11-of-30 from the floor. Phillips also had team-best totals with six assists and four steals.
Conley Langford and
Claire Leak each booked 17 points. Langford went 5-for-12 from the floor and was 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe. Langford had another of her all-around solid games, pulling down eight rebounds, to go along with four assists and three steals.
Leak did all of her damage from beyond the arc. Leak was 5-of-11 from long range and converted both of her free throws.
Hudson (4 points) led all rebounders by corralling 12 caroms for the afternoon.
The aforementioned Owls' defense forced the Scots into 31 turnovers, which MUW converted into 24 of its points. But the in-your-face pressure was also The W's "Achille's Heel". Lyon had 25 fast-break points, many of which came after breaking the MUW press and making easy layups.
The W will next play at home on Thursday (Jan. 9/5:30 p.m.) versus Principia College, beginning a string of four-consecutive home games over the next two weeks.
