COLUMBIA - Monday night finds the William Woods University women's basketball team returning to the AMC Postseason Tournament championship game for the fourth time in as many years. For the third straight season, the Owls will battle Columbia College for the AMC's automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. from the Arena at Southwell Complex. "Voice of the Owls" Darren Munns and Craig McAndrews will bring the game to Owls fans, with the link available via wwuowls.com at gametime.

Earlier This Season

The teams have split the series this season, with the road team picking up the win in each contest. William Woods picked up the first ever road win at Columbia in the modern era, with a 69-64 victory. Sharron Andrews scored 17 points, while Ashlee Taylor and Megan Aubuchon each added 11.

In the return contest, the Owls ran into a near-perfect free throw shooting performance (27-of-28) from the Cougars, falling 66-76 on the night. Andrews again led the scoring for WWU with 18, with Blake French adding 11.

Quick Look - William Woods

William Woods is coming off a pair of convincing opening-round wins in the AMC Tournament, having dispatched Missouri Baptist in the opening round by a 63-41 count and running away from Williams Baptist in the semifinal to come out 80-55 victors.

The Owls used a balanced team performance in the quarterfinal win, with Megan Aubuchon having the most outstanding performance of the night. The senior finished with a career-high eight blocks on the night, one block shy of a 23-year-old single-game record, and nearly missed a triple-double as she added eight points and eight rebounds to her game line for the night. Ashlee Taylor also saw a near-miss on the night, as the junior finished with nine points and 10 rebounds for WWU.

On the season, Sharron Andrews leads the Owls offense, averaging 12.7 pts/gm on the year. Aubuchon and Taylor sit just shy of the 10-point plateau, with 9.9 pts/gm and 9.6 pts/gm respectively, with Aubuchon leading the rebounding battle for WWU with 7.2 per game. Andrews has steadily improved on the glass on the year and currently averages 6.2 boards per contest, good for second on the team. Miranda Loesch adds 4.7 per game and Taylor grabs 4.6 per contest to round out the glass crew.

As a team, the Owls are strong defensively, ranked in the top 25 in four defensive categories on the year. WWU holds its opponents to 56.258 pts/gm on the year, the 15th-best mark among NAIA Division I teams. The Owls also allow a stingy opponents shooting percentage of .360 (20th) and give up just 35.548 rebounds per game (21st) through 31 games on the year. The Owls are also ranked 22nd in total blocks, with 102 on the season.

On the offensive side of the ledger, the Owls are also among the top teams, with the 32nd-best 3-pt FG percentage in the country at .314 and the 35th-best rebounding margin (6.710). WWU holds top-50 marks in all shooting categories, adding a 44th-best .401 overall shooting pace to a 49th-best FT percentage of .674 and the aforementioned success from beyond the arc.

Individually, William Woods grabs four top-50 marks, with Andrews claiming the 31st-best mark for total steals and steals per game with 75 and 2.419/gm respectively. Blake French boasts an assist/turnover ratio of 1.618, the 42nd-best among NAIA Division I players and Aubuchon sits at 50th with 31 total blocks on the year.

Quick Look - Columbia College

The Lady Cougars enter today's game also having won their first two tournament games, but having seen a bit tougher semifinal matchup against Park University. Columbia easily handled Stephens College in the quarterfinals, winning by a 96-51 margin before outlasting the Pirates 83-67.

Columbia has five players who have averaged double figures on the season, although only four are active on the current roster. Heather English leads the team with 14.8 pts/gm, with Airelle Eldridge adding 13.3 on the year. Ashley Fisher and Julie Teeple round out the scoring with 12.4 and 10.6 respectively. Teeple is also strong on the glass, as she's the active leader for Columbia with 8.3 rebounds per game.

CC has struggled through the AMC slate with a short roster, with only seven players having seen action through January and February for the Lady Cougars. Despite being shorthanded, Columbia is ranked in the top-10 nationally in a number of categories, highlighted by a .791 FT shooting percentage - the second-best among NAIA Division I schools. 3-pt shooting is a strength for Columbia as well, with the Lady Cougars boasting a .344 shooting pace (sixth-best) and a pace of 7.34 3FG per game, ninth best in the country.