ST. LOUIS - Behind a torrid second-half shooting performance, the William Woods University women's basketball team ran out 20-point winners at Missouri Baptist on Thursday night. Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) posted a career-high 14 points, including 10 in the second half alone, as the Owls downed the Spartans 64-44.

The Owls opened up a 7-2 lead with just over two minutes gone on the strength of a bucket from Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) and a layup and a three-pointer from Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) and held a five-point lead for most of the first half.

Missouri Baptist narrowed the gap down the stretch, taking advantage of a pair of WWU turnovers to tie the game at 22-22 with 3:24 left in the half, but Andrews closed out the half with five straight points to take a 29-24 advantage into the locker room.

WWU was able to push out to a 10-point cushion coming out of the intermission, leading 39-29 with 14:23 on the clock. MBU pulled back within eight before a 10-3 run for the Owls - powered by four straight buckets from Loesch and capped by a basket off the turnover from Ciara Tatum (Columbia, Mo.) - put William Woods in front by a 49-34 margin with 9:23 to go.

The Spartans were able to rattle off a short spurt, pulling within reach at 50-41 with just over six minutes left, but Loesch stopped the run with a basket at the 5:43 mark and the Owls simply overpowered MBU down the stretch.

In addition to Loesch's 14-point outing, Andrews finished with 11 points and Scherder added 10 on the night. The Owls were unselfish as well, handing out 13 assists on 25 buckets. WWU posted a second-half shooting pace of .520 to finish the game at a .410 mark and held the Spartans to a .333 clip for the game. Andrea Seabaugh led the Spartans with 13 points on the night.

The Owls move to 16-6 overall and 6-1 in AMC play and will begin the second half of the conference schedule on Saturday, taking on Hannibal-LaGrange University. Tipoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Wrestling team put on a great show in front of their home crowd on Thursday night. The 'Cats took to the mats in a double-duel with Cape Central and Poplar Bluff; DHS split the match with a victory over the Tigers and a narrow defeat against the Mules.

"Effort-wise, it was definitely there. I thought we did a good job in front of our home crowd," DHS head coach Rick Schwab said. "We've been fighting some sickness and injuries here, so we couldn't put together a full, solid squad, and it ended up costing us against Poplar Bluff."

The 'Cats cruised to victory in their opening duel against Cape Central, with Wes Ashley (120 lbs.), Dylan Bazarian (152 lbs.) and Damian Glasener (195 lbs.) all picking up first-round pins.

The Mules were able to snap off three straight pins to open Dexter's second duel before state-ranked Trevor Waldner (126 lbs.) picked up a pin with :20 left in the third round.

Logan Quertermous (182 lbs.) was able to score a pin in the first minute of his match, and Zach Lacy (220 lbs.) pinned Trent Welborn 1:05 into the second round of his match.

Glasener put on one of the better matches of the night during his bout with Jacob Sliger; the 195 pounders for Dexter and Poplar Bluff slugged it out in the first round, with neither one able to score a point. Sliger took control early in the second round before Glasener was able to get a reversal and pin at the 1:48 mark.

"Damien has been one of the one's that's been sick; he'd been out for an entire week with this bug that's been going around. Coming out and getting back after it tonight, it really turned the tide of [the match with Bluff]," Schwab said. "It was kind of down, and he picked it up and got the excitement back up."

"We've always been weaker in our light weights; we're really young, really inexperienced," Schwab noted after the bout with Bluff. "Once we get up into the middle and upper weights, we can really turn the tide and pick up the momentum. It's always saved us in the end, but tonight, Wick is out injured, Cole Dean is out sick, and Heflin is injured, so that got us tonight."

The match was the 'Cats last of the regular season; next up for the Bearcat grapplers is the district tournament. Schwab noted that his team has been tagged as the team to finally knock Ste. Genevive off the top slot in the district.

"Everybody has been talking about where we're going to be, and if we were going to be able to take Ste. Gen. this year. They've always been the team to win it, and we've always wound up in third or fourth, but everybody thinks we're going to be that team that can sneak up on them," Schwab said of his team. "It'll be tough; we'll have to bring our full game, and we're going to have to get back healthy to win the championship. I'd like to bring home the plaque, at least in the top two; I think it can happen."

Districts will be held next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 10-11) at DeSoto High School.

Editor's note: Cody Stevens and Trevor Waldner both broke the school record for takedowns in a season, previously set at 78 by Justin McCollough in the 2005 season. Waldner and Stevens are currently tied with 95 apiece.

JUPITER, Fla.- With two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning of Thursday's season opening game at Roger Dean Stadium, Palm Beach Atlantic University senior catcher Travis Murray delivered a walk-off single to lift the Sailfish to a 3-2 win over Lynn University. The situation and outcome seemed fitting as Palm Beach Atlantic head coach Gary Carter, who delivered in a similar situation in the 1986 World Series, was honored before the game with a standing ovation from the crowd.

With Cater battling brain cancer, his team honored their skipper with more than just a touching pregame ovation but also in finding a way to win in a late game situation.

Murray's walk-off single capped what was a great ballgame played between the two Palm Beach County rivals that featured some top-notch defensive plays, solid pitching, and some timely hitting.

Senior right-hander Logan Thomas earned the starting nod for the Sailfish in the opening game and he proved more than capable of handling the task. Now in his fourth season at PBA from Melbourne, Florida, Thomas logged an impressive eight innings while saving his best work for last.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the eighth inning and Lynn having loaded the bases with nobody out, it wouldn't appear that Thomas and the Fish could escape without giving up the lead. That all changed quickly however when Thomas tallied a strikeout of LU cleanup hitter Anthony Boza and then got Knights catcher Joe Sharkey to bounce into an inning-ending double-play as the PBA right-hander exited the mound with full emotion on display.

With momentum now on their side it would take until their final strike before PBA could taste victory as Murray's slow groundball up the middle in the ninth inning snuck through the outstretched arms of a diving Kyle Radziewski, the Lynn shortstop.

The inning began with second-baseman Cody Higgins reaching on an error and moving ahead to second-base on a Luis Mejia groundout. Pinch-runner Jordan Carter would alertly swipe third-base before scoring on the Murray single.

Palm Beach Atlantic got on the board first as they plated a run in the bottom half of the first inning. Higgins began the game with a walk before moving to second-base on a Matt Perkowski single. Murray delivered a sacrifice fly later in the inning to give PBA the 1-0 lead.

Things would remain 1-0 in favor of the Fish until the top of the third inning as Alex Bello led off with a triple and then came in to tie the game on a Kamm Washington run-scoring single.

Lynn took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning as Cory Elasick singled then stole second and third base before coming in to score on a Jason Matusik sacrifice fly.

PBA tied things up in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Justin Sizemore sacrifice fly that plated Perkowski for a 2-1 Sailfish lead.

Both teams would have their chances down the stretch to plate a go-ahead run but it wouldn't be until Murray's single in the ninth that the outcome would be decided.

Sailfish junior Nic Kovacs earned the win in relief for PBA as he tossed a scoreless top half of the ninth while walking one and striking out one.

Thomas went eight strong innings while allowing seven hits and two earned runs. He would strike out five while walking three batters.

The Fighting Knights saw three pitchers go to the hill with each tallying multiple innings. Shawn Kale went the first four frames while allowing one unearned run on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Andre Colon followed with three innings as he gave up one run and three hits. Jason Whalen took the loss after allowing the Murray single.

Both teams would register seven hits in the game as LU second-baseman Mike Diorio and Elasik the third-baseman each tallied two hits. Mejia finished 2-for-5 on the PBA side.

Palm Beach Atlantic will host Warner University on Saturday at 3 pm for their next outing. The two teams will battle at Palm Beach Gardens High School in two seven inning contests. Those fans who cannot make it out in person can follow the game through a live broadcast on the Sailfish Sports Network.

Click here for the game's full box score.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BENTON - After a disappointing home loss against the state-ranked Meadow Heights Lady Panthers on Monday night, the Lady Bearcats were out to prove a point on Thursday night at Thomas W. Kelly Memorial High School.

The Lady Bearcats, who struggled defensively in Monday night's loss, played with a much more unified effort and gave up just six shots from the floor - while only turning the ball over four times - during an 80-19 thrashing of the Lady Hawks.

The Lady 'Cats had the pedal on the floor from the get-go, and jumped out to a big lead early. Allison Jarrell knocked down a trey early in the contest on her way to a nine-point first quarter effort, and Brittany Harris dominated the paint for 10 points in the first quarter. LBB held a commanding 30-6 lead after the opening frame.

The Lady 'Cats didn't give up a field goal in the second quarter, and held the Hawks to a pair of free throws from Bridgette Chandler. Mollie Whitehead knocked down a trey, while Katelynn Frazier chipped in six points in the second to put LBB up 53-8 at halftime.

Jessica Worth hit Kelly's only field goal of the third quarter; four free throws from Chandler accounted for the rest of the Lady Hawk offense in the frame. Jarrell hit her second trey of the contest, and four point efforts from Harris and Paige Patterson put the Lady 'Cats up 68-14 heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Samantha Ratledge had a chance for the old-fashioned three early in the fourth for the Hawks, but came up short on the free throw. Patterson added six more points for the Lady 'Cats, while Payton Jones was good on a three-point play for the Hawks. The Lady 'Cats cruised with a running clock in yet another contest, with a 80-19 decision.

The big win in the nightcap gave the Lady 'Cats a sweep of the Hawks; the JV picked up a 36-25 win in their game.

With the win, the Lady 'Cats move to 18-3 on the season; LBB will return to action on Monday night, when they travel to Cape Girardeau to face off against district rival Notre Dame.  

FULTON - Coming to the halfway point of the AMC slate, the no. 23-ranked William Woods University women's basketball team travels to St. Louis to take on Missouri Baptist University in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Owls look to extend a five-game AMC winning streak and take sole possession of first place in the conference.

Quick Look - William Woods

After dropping its conference opener, William Woods has rallied to a five-game winning streak in AMC play. Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) leads the Owls with 13.7 pts/gm in conference, and she also leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game. Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) adds 5.3 rebounds per game and 9.2 pts/gm on the conference slate. As a team, the Owls are shooting at a .416 rate against conference foes and have posted a .452 accuracy rate from 3-pt range within the AMC. Free throw shooting is the only statistical area where WWU is outperformed in conference action, although it's only on a percentage basis (.681 to .758) as the squad's seen nearly twice as many chances (113 to 66) from the stripe, but has hit on 27 more (77-50).

On the overall slate, the Owls are nationally-ranked in a number of categories, highlighted by strong defensive showings. WWU is ranked no. 16 among NAIA Division I teams in scoring defense, holding its foes to just 56.5 pts/gm on the year, as well as a no. 19 ranking in shooting defense (.359) and a no. 38 ranking in rebounding defense (37.0/gm). The Owls are also ranked in blocks, holding the 31st-best spot in both total blocks (69) and blocks per game (3.3) on the 2011-12 season.

Individually, Andrews is also ranked in the top 50 in three categories. The senior is 29th in the country in steals per game (2.6) and total steals (54) and her shooting percentage of .480 is 31st among NAIA Division I players.

Quick Look - Missouri Baptist

Although the Spartans have struggled to a 6-15 overall record and a 0-6 mark in AMC action, they are among the top performers in a few statistical categories for the NAIA. MBU is ranked 10th in the country in 3-pt field goal percentage, with a mark of .343 on the year and its 6.5 makes per game are good for 19th, with the total of 137 good for 23rd overall.

Individually, Andrea Seabaugh paces the Spartans with a NAIA top-50 (39th) performance of 15.0 pts/gm on the year, with her three-point shooting good for a pair of top-10 marks - total makes (6th/55) and per game makes (9th/2.6) - as well as a no. 21 ranking in accuracy at .401. Chelsea Prosser also ranks for the Spartans, with her total blocks mark of 33 good for 23rd in the country. Prosser is the leading rebounder for MBU with 6.2 on the year.