FULTON - Despite an 18-point outing from Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) the William Woods University women's basketball team saw a six-point halftime lead evaporate as the Owls fell 66-76 to Columbia College on Saturday.

 The Owls shot just 9-of-35 in the second half, falling into a second-place tie in the AMC standings.

Dexter, Mo. native Ashlee Taylor, fresh off a career-high scoring effort, was good for nine points and six rebounds in the contest.

WWU was much the better team in the first half, hitting at a .500 clip en route to a 39-33 halftime lead. The Owls led by as many as 12 during the period, but Columbia was able to hang around with solid free throw shooting.

The second half was a different story, however, as WWU wasn't able to find the distance. The Owls went scoreless for two five-minute stretches during the second half and missed on all 13 attempts from beyond the arc as Columbia took the lead and stretched out to a 12-point cushion.

With 2:46 to go, Andrews tried to take control for WWU but the comeback came too late. The senior finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on the night, with Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) adding 11. The Owls dominated the rebounding battle 41-31, including an 18-6 edge on the offensive glass.

The Owls fall to 17-8 on the season and are back in action on Thursday night. WWU travels to Walnut Ridge, Ark., to battle Williams Baptist College.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

DESOTO - After two hard-fought days on the mats at DeSoto High School, the Dexter Bearcats have qualified five wrestlers for the MSHSAA State Tournament next week.

Seniors Cody Stevens (160 lbs.) and Cole Dean (132 lbs.), junior Brad Wick (170 lbs.), sophomore Trevor Waldner (126 lbs.) and freshman Dylan Bazarian (152 lbs.) all finished in the top four to move on to the state tournament.

Stevens, Waldner, and Bazarian all competed for District Titles. Stevens was the only one to bring home first place in the second District Championship of his career.

Waldner and Bazarian are both products the local AAU wrestling program, founded four years ago, and Schwab noted it as a key in the underclassmen's successes.

"Being that Stevens started as an eighth grader it took him a few years to learn the sport and prepare himself to compete," Schwab said. "For Waldner and Bazarian, they've already been through the ringer with the AAU program and have entered their high school careers ready to go."

The 'Cats struggled in the team competition; several key upsets knocked the Bearcats out of contention for a plaque after being in fifth place at the end of the first day. Ste. Genevive continued their winning ways in the team competition, taking home a District Title with a 179.5 point total. The 'Cats finished sixth, with 122.5 points.

Schwab noted his team's disappointment, but was optimistic about the future of the program.

"We fell short of our goal this weekend. The wrestlers set high expectations to bring home a plaque this year," he said. "It was within our reach as we were in second place at one point, but we were upset at a couple of different weight classes and were unable to get upsets at others. Still, the boys had a great showing and our future looks promising."

Dean, Stevens, Waldner, Bazarian, and Wick will all travel to Columbia to battle for a State Championship starting on Thursday (Feb. 16) at Mizzou Arena; the tournament will conclude on Saturday (Feb. 18).

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners rallied from a double digit deficit but ultimately fell on a last second shot as Rita Flynn hit a fall away jumper with 1.6 seconds left to give Maryville a 65-63 win on Saturday at Moloney Arena.

The final play was setup by Shelby Miller who drove the lane and tried to get fouled on her shot attempt that she missed, but no one for the Lady Miners boxed out as the ball rolled to Flynn who put up and in.

Despite outrebounding the Saints 36-to-32, S&T had problems rebounding on the defensive end allowing multiple second and third opportunities which Maryville cashed in on including the winning basket.

The Lady Miners (16-7, 10-5 GLVC) trailed by as many as 11 with 6:24 to play but began to comeback scoring five straight to get within six on a free throw from Hailee Parks (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) with 5:20 to play. Maryville (13-10, 9-6 GLVC) answered though as Alissa Oney buried a three from the right wing pushing the lead back to nine with 3:30 to play.

S&T then proceeded to run off 10 points in the next two minutes to take the lead. Julie Meyer (Marthasville, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) started it off with four straight free throws then Toni Knar (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) buried a three from the top of the key to make it 60-58 with 2:13 to play. Meyer then forced a steal at midcourt and scored on the break to tie the game with 1:53 left.

After getting a stop on the defensive end the Lady Miners took the lead as Knar was fouled and went to the line making 1-of-2 with 1:01 to play. The Saints answered as Kate Childs hit a backdoor layup and was fouled with 0:31 left. She missed the initial free throw but S&T was called for a lane violation and given the reprieve she made the second to make it 63-61.

Knar tied the game with 0:12.3 left making a shot from the top of the key. Maryville then called a timeout to set up the winning play.

After being hold scoreless in the opening half Abby Duethman scored 16 in the second half including three three's.

S&T fell behind by three to start the game before Courtney Kemp (Fredricktown, Mo./Fredricktown) provided a spark scoring five straight and seven of the first nine giving the Lady Miners a 9-5 lead just over seven minutes into the contest. The lead grew to seven before Maryville cut it to five on a pair of free throws from Shelby Miller.

S&T built its largest lead of the half at 22-13 on back-to-back steals and scores from Kyesha Hall (Dodson, La.) and Julie Meyer (Marthasville, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) with less than five minutes to play in the frame.

Miller then took over the Saints scoring 11 straight points over a four minute stretch giving them a 24-22 lead with 1:17 remaining in the half. Hailee Parks (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) tied the game for the Lady Miners getting a layup to go with 0:27 left.

Maryville went into the locker room though with a 26-24 lead as Alissa Oney drove the lane and laid it in with 0:10 left. S&T had a final chance to tie but didn't get a shot off.

Both sides were cold shooting the ball in the first half. The Lady Miners were just 8-for-28 (29 percent) from the field while the Saints were 10-of-27 (37 percent). S&T outrebounded Maryville by a 21-17 margin but turned it over 12 times.

Kemp led the Lady Miners with seven points while Karli Sample (St. Joseph, Mo./Benton) added six more. Miller led all scorers with 18 in the stanza.

Maryville was 15-for-29 (52 percent) from the floor in the second half to finish the contest shooting 45 percent. It was 5-of-7 from behind the arc in the frame and 8-for-11 at the foul line. Miller scored a game-high 22 points with Duethman adding her 16.

S&T shot 42 percent (10-for-24) in the second half but still finished the game making just 18-of-52 (35 percent). It was 5-for-17 (29.4 percent), but was 22-of-26 (85 percent) at the charity stripe. Meyer led the way with 12 while Kemp and Knar had 11 each.

The Lady Miners head to Kansas City next Thursday for 5:30 p.m. game at Rockhurst.

The Dexter fifth grade girls basketball team came out victorious Saturday at a tournament in Delta. Team members include Anna Bishop, Maycie Martin, Maci McBride, Rylee Allen, Natalie Sitze, Keirsten Keirsey, Brooke Hessling and Chaley Mosby. The team is coached by Kevin Bishop. The fifth grade team has an incredible season record of 15-3. Congratulations, girls! (Photo courtesy Kevin Bishop; thanks, Kevin!)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

KENNETT - The Dexter Bearcats and Kennett Indians faced off for the second time in the 2011-2012 season on Friday night; after a close contest in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament that went in Kennett's favor, the Bearcats looked to pick up their 11th straight win and spoil the Tribe's Homecoming.

A 24 point effort from sophomore forward Kevonte Mitchell, paired with great free throw shooting when the 'Cats were forced to foul late in the game, gave the Tribe their second win over Dexter this season in a 70-63 decision.

"Early we had quite a few unforced turnovers. Part of it is probably missing Chase Young, our point guard, but we settled down and played better," head coach Rob Nichols said after the game. "You just can't have unforced errors like that against a team like Kennett and expect to win on their home court."

"There wasn't a big difference between tonight and when we played them in the Christmas Tournament; the bigger difference was with how we've played lately," he continued. "I just didn't see that mental focus and that extra step that we've been having. Credit Kennett for that; they had us back on our heels early in the game, and I don't think we ever led after the first quarter."

Kennett opened with a six point run, but a pair of jumpers from Tyler Miller and a free throw from Jake Lee brought the 'Cats within one at the 4:00 mark. Jordan Fitts dropped in a layup to give DHS a 9-8 lead with 2:38 on the clock, but Kennett was able to take a 12-11 lead after the opening frame.

Cody Neldon drew a charge on Mitchell early in the second, but the sophomore knocked down a three for the Tribe on their next trip down the floor. Miller knocked down a pair of treys midway through the second to bring the score to 28-22 at the 2:38 mark. The 'Cats pulled within two on a pair of Neldon free throws, but Mitchell came knocked down a three and three point play on back-to-back possessions to push the Tribe to an eight point lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw Kennet maintain at least a five point lead throughout, but a layup by Miller at the buzzer cut the lead to four heading into the fourth.

The Bearcats pulled within five on a Fitts jumper with just under three minutes left in the game, but the Tribe kept hitting shots and had a solid performance from the charity stripe when the 'Cats were forced to foul with under a minute left in the game.

Miller and Lee each had 20-plus point efforts for the now 13-10 Bearcats in the loss.

"Jake missed a few he normally is going to make, but they played great defense against him," Nichols noted. "Tyler and Jake played well and both had over 20 points, but Kennett made them earn all those points; there weren't any easy baskets tonight."

The Bearcats avoided their usual high-pressure, full-court defense in the contest with Chase Young sidelined due to injury.

"With Chase out we weren't quite as deep, and we didn't want to wear ourselves out pressing all game," Nichols added. "Maybe we should have gone to it a little bit earlier, but hindsight is always better. They had a little bit of trouble with it, but we gave up some baskets in our press, too."

Despite the loss, Nichols noted he was proud of his team for their turnaround in 2012, after opening the season 0-5.

"We've been playing better; you aren't going to win them all," he said. "You go play a good team like Kennett on their home court, on their homecoming, you expect to have a tough battle. Credit them for that, they were the better team tonight."

In JV action, the Bearcats were within two at the end of the third quarter, but a 15 point effort in the fourth sealed a 41-30 victory for the Tribe.

Nick Noble and Stevie Payne combined for 21 of Dexter's 30 points, while DK Wallace had 11 points for the Indians.

Dexter will be back in action on Tuesday, when the host the Poplar Bluff Mules.

"Bluff is a good, solid defensive team. They'll run a man-to-man on us," Nichols said. "We're going to have to settle in and run a half-court offense; if you can't run a half-court offense against Bluff, you'll have trouble beating them."

The JV squad will get things underway at 6:00 p.m. from the Bearcat Event Center.

Editor's Note: Chase Young was sidelined with a knee injury that has been nagging him since summer. Nichols indicated that Chase would be undergoing an MRI on Monday to assess any damage, and that the team would 'take things from there'. No timetable was given for his return.