FULTON - In a brief foray out of conference action, the William Woods University women's basketball team struggled from three-point range en route to a 40-52 reversal at the hands of Westminster College in a matchup of crosstown rivals. Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) led the Owls with eight points and eight rebounds on the night, as WWU shot a paltry .067 (1-of-15) from beyond the arc.

The Blue Jays came out of the gates looking to press the entire game, and although the Owls were able to slip the press, WWU had difficulty finding the range and trailed 4-10 early.

A slow-rolling 8-0 run by the Owls would briefly put William Woods on top. Aubuchon started the run with a half-court pass finding Olivia Storjohann (Eldridge, Iowa) in the lane for a bucket. Aubuchon would finish off drives from Destani Stensrud (Exeter, Mo.) and Ciara Tatum (Columbia, Mo.) during the run, with Stephanie Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill.) putting WWU in front 12-10 with a bucket at the 6:36 mark.

The lead would be short-lived, however, as Westminster responded on its next possession and eventually pushed out to a 19-27 halftime edge.

WWU attempted to mount a comeback, scoring first in the second half, but three treys from Leigh Ann Lutz with only an Aubuchon bucket in response left the Owls trailing 23-37 with just under 15 minutes to play. Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) knocked down a trey on the next possession for the Owls to close the deficit to 11 before a shot clock violation was turned into a bucked from Sharron Andrews (Oakland, Hayward, Calif.) to narrow the margin to 28-37 with 13:45 on the clock.

An uncharacteristic miss at the free throw line by Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) left the door open for Westminster, who wasted little time in pushing the margin back to double figures. The Owls could pull no closer than 12 points down the stretch, falling to 13-6 on the season.

Andrews also had eight points for the Owls on the night, with Loesch adding seven. WWU had the better end of the rebounding battle, pulling down 43 boards to just 39 for the Blue Jays, with the Owls taking a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass. After a .257 first half, WWU rebounded to a .370 pace in the second for a final accuracy mark of .306, but Westminster finished the contest with a .353 mark including a .400 clip from distance. Westminster also had the edge from the charity stripe, hitting eight of 14 attempts to just 1-of-5 shooting from WWU.

The Owls return to conference play on Thursday night, welcoming Harris-Stowe State University to Anderson Arena. The game is part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers weekend. WWU will be taking donations at the gate to benefit the American Cancer Society.