COLUMBIA - In a battle between the top two preseason teams in the AMC, freshman Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) did a lot of work off the scoresheet to power the William Woods University women's basketball team to a 69-64 win over Columbia College on Thursday night. The freshman had just seven points on the night, but singlehandedly keyed a seven-point push in the closing minutes of the game.

The Cougars struck first and jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but WWU answered, going up 8-7 with just 3:32 gone. The rest of the first half was a dogfight, seeing 10 lead changes and two ties.

Down five, a three-pointer from Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) narrowed the gap to 26-28 with 4:40 to go, but despite a free throw make from Andrews, Columbia pushed back out to a 33-29 lead with 1:15 on the clock.

French canned a trey with just under a minute to go, pulling the Owls to within one. WWU forced a shot clock turnover on the Cougars's next possession, but the freshman couldn't find the range as the Owls held for the last shot and the team went into the break down 32-33.

The second half was every bit as much a dogfight as the first, seeing four more lead changes and two ties over the first 10 minutes.

With 9:34 to go, the Owls would grab the lead for good, as Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) forced a turnover at halfcourt and drew a foul as she was headed for an easy layup. The senior swished both, with Aubuchon adding a pair of buckets for a 59-54 lead with 7:53 left.

A pair of buckets from Columbia closed the gap to 59-58 with 5:04 left, but French put the Owls on her shoulders over the next three minutes to push the WWU lead back to 66-58. A steal led to a Taylor triple to stretch the lead back to 62-58, and she walked in a fast-break layup after picking off an entry pass for a 64-58 edge. She finished off the spurt with a jumper from the left elbow.

Columbia racked a trey with just over a minute to pull within five, but WWU was able to hold off the push and pick up the win.

Andrews led the Owls offense with 17 points on the night, with Aubuchon and Ashlee Taylor (Dexter, Mo.) each adding 11. The Owls were outrebounded 43-38 on the night, but Aubuchon led the squad with seven. Heather English led all scorers with 23 points, adding 10 rebounds as well. Julie Teeple also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Cougars.

William Woods returns to action on Saturday, hosting Williams Baptist in a 2 p.m. tipoff. The game is the first of a home doubleheader with the men's team and the first in a three-game homestead.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Lafayette overcame its worst first-half shooting performance of the season with a 17-2 run to start the second half en route to a 54-43 victory over Holy Cross on Thursday night. Tony Johnson, Ryan Willen and Dan Trist each scored 11 points to lead the Leopards offensively as Johnson contributed all of his points in the final 20 minutes at the Hart Center.

With the win, Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon collected his 234th career victory, tying the mark for victories by a Patriot League coach held by former Bucknell coach Pat Flannery.

Lafayette limited Holy Cross (8-10, 2-2) to 33 percent shooting from the field and seven percent from beyond the arc. The 17 second-half, and 43 total points were both season-lows for a Lafayette opponent. Lafayette outscored Holy Cross 40-19 in the second half.

Lafayette (8-11, 3-1) connected on its first seven shots of the second half to take a 31-26 lead with 15:47 to play. Willen began the stretch with a jumper, Trist converted two layups surrounding R.J. Evans' basket at the other end and Johnson made a reverse lay-up to pull Lafayette within four 2:13 into the half and force a Holy Cross timeout. Following the stoppage, Lafayette hit three consecutive treys from Willen, Rob Delaney and Joey Ptasinski to cap the run.

Holy Cross responded with a 10-2 run of its own over the next 3:56 to regain the lead at 36-33. Mike Cavataio netted four of his eight points during the spurt that ended with Eric Obeysekere's jumper with 11:51 remaining.

A Crusaders' bucket tied the score at 38 with 9:53 showing before the visiting Leopards ripped off an 11-0 run that spanned 5:49. The stretch began with two Johnson layups, followed by a Jim Mower triple and four Willen free throws to go ahead 49-38 with 4:28 to go. A Phil Beans' lay-in briefly stopped the bleeding for Holy Cross but Johnson hit two freebies after he was fouled during a scramble for a loose ball.

Leading 51-41 and in possession of the basketball, Willen broke the Holy Cross press and found Mower open in the wing with two minutes to play. Mower drilled a three to give Lafayette its largest lead (54-41) and put the game out of reach. In total, Lafayette outscored Holy Cross 21-7 over the final 11:51 seconds of the contest.

In the first half Lafayette shot 6-for-31 from the field (19 percent) and 1-of-14 (7 percent) from beyond the arc. During the second stanza, the Leopards' shot 13-of-25 (52 percent) including 6-of-9 from downtown.

Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center on Sunday when its hosts archrival Lehigh at 2 p.m. Like tonight's game, the game will only be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Notes:
Lafayette turned the ball over nine times, the second straight game it gave the ball away fewer than 10 times.

Lafayette improved to 5-0 when holding opponents under 20 made field goals (18).

For a full breakdown of the game's stats, click here.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 1.20.2012

Games played Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012

High School Boys

• Leopold 64, Richland 46
• Notre Dame 79, Advance 37
• Hayti 60, Rivercrest, Ark. 51
• Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament
• Scott County Central 79, Oran 65
• Scott City 63, Chaffee 49

High School Girls

• Dexter 103, Portageville 26
• Poplar Bluff 55, Sikeston 49
• Naylor 46, Greenville 38
• Neelyville 59, Doniphan 56
• Cape Central 53, Seckman 39
• Meadow Heights 73, Woodland 29
• Perryville 52, Hillsboro 40
• Crystal City 42, St. Vincent 38
• Kennett 62, Twin Rivers 48
• Senath Hornersville 71, Caruthersville 25

Collegiate Men

• Lafayette 54,  Holly Cross 43
• Duke 91, Wake Forest 73
• Penn State 54, Illinois 54
• Mid Tennessee 59, Arkansas State 46\ 

Collegiate Women

• William Woods 69, Columbia College 64
• University of Illinois Springfield 64, Missouri S&T 58
• Kentucky 69, Georgia 64
• Tennessee 65, LSU 56
• Arkansas 69, Vanderbilt 47

Tonight

• Dexter vs. NMCC, 6 p.m. JV tipoff at “The Palace”
• SEMO Conference Wrestling (Friday & Saturday)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

PORTAGEVILLE - They were close two times in December: 94 points at New Madrid, and 97 points at Fredericktown. This time, they got there.

Thursday night saw the Lady Bearcats pass the century mark for the first time in the 2011-2012 season with a 103-26 victory over the Portageville Lady Bulldogs. The Lady ‘Cats used hot shooting - 50% from beyond the arc, 54% from the floor - coupled with great defense in the last three quarters of the game to cruise to the big victory.


“I thought defensively we didn’t really start out that well,” LBB head coach Chad Allen said after the game. “We got down and guarded really well, especially in the second quarter. We had a lot of stops and a lot of points off turnovers, and overall I thought we played with a lot of intensity tonight.”

“We wore them down; you could tell there in the second half, Portageville was tired,” he continued. “I thought we did a much better job in the second half defensively and we pushed the ball down the floor in transition well.”


The Lady ‘Cats started five sophomores in the contest - Paige Patterson, Mollie Whitehead, Hannah Noe, Erika Cobb, and Alison Jarrell - and opened the game with nine unanswered points. The Bulldogs would fight back late in the first quarter, but the ‘Cats still exited the frame with a 22-9 advantage.


LBB’s defense kicked into high gear during the second quarter; Brittany Harris and Patterson both recorded blocks, while Jarrell and Noe had multiple steals in the frame. Patterson also pulled down seven of her 15 rebounds in the second quarter.

Noe picked off back-to-back inbounds passes under her own basket before Jarrell knocked down a deep three at the 5:00 mark to give the ‘Cats a 36-13 lead. Jarrell came up with a steal on the next possession that led to a 12 footer for Harris. Katelynn Frazier picked up a loose ball and dropped in a layup in the closing seconds of the first half to send the ‘Cats to the locker room with a commanding 54-17 lead.

Cobb had a solid all-around performance in the third quarter; the sophomore guard pulled up her dribble for two easy jumpers, while earning three assists, a steal, and a block in the frame. Noe and Jarrell both knocked down threes to help the Lady ‘Cats head into the fourth and final quarter with a 89-21 lead.

Latavia Harris dropped in a quick bucket to open the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, but the Bearcats quickly rattled off eight points to take a 97-24 lead into a timeout at the 3:18 mark.

Cobb knocked down a 15 footer after a Portageville turnover to put the ‘Cats at 99 points with just over 2:00 left in the game. Whitehead was fouled the next trip down the floor and hit two free throws to push the ‘Cats across the century mark and end the game with a 103-26 victory.

The JV Lady ‘Cats picked up a 47-15 win in their contest; a 22 point first quarter gave the young ‘Cats a comfortable lead that they padded with an improved defensive performance. Taylor Owens led the JV squad with 13 points, while Katie Reiker added 10 points.

The Lady Bearcats will be back in action on Monday, when they put their 12 game win streak on the line at Perryville.

“It seems like every time we go up to Perryville, they always give us a good game,” Allen said of the Lady Pirates. “It’s always a close game; they’re well coached, and they’ve been in a lot of playoffs in the past. They’ll try to slow things down, play a 3-2 defense. We’ll have to make sure we’re prepared and get after it that game.”

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

The Lady Bearcats are still ranked in the state in Class 4, according to the most recent Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll.

The newest MBCA poll includes games played through Sunday, Jan. 15, and has the 'Cats listed in the No. 5 slot, right behind Miller Career Academy; the Pheonix, along with the Jackson Indians, are the only two teams to defeat the Lady 'Cats so far this season.

According to LBB's Rankings page on MaxPreps.com, the Lady Bearcats are ranked No. 23 across all classes, but are No. 3 in Class 4; Miller Career is again ranked above the Bearcats in the No. 1 slot.

The Lady 'Cats are also close to cracking the top 1,000 teams in the nation, according to MaxPreps.

The Lady 'Cats will be in action again tonight, when the head to Portageville to take on the Bulldogs; tipoff for the JV is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity immediately following.