Three-of-the-top-four seeds advance to the semifinals of the #AMCWBB tournament
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – (Bracket | Tournament Page) Three-of-the-top-four seeds advance to the semifinals of the American Midwest Conference Tournament on Thursday.
Game one: No. 1-seed Columbia Cougars def. No. 8-seed Williams Baptist Lady Eagles, 91-57
The Cougars led from start to finish
Top-seeded Columbia Cougars led from the opening tipoff and never looked back. The Cougars jumped out to a 16-2 lead, before leading 25-8 at the end of the first period.
Columbia continued its dominance in the second quarter, by stretching its lead out to a first half high, 22 points (36-14.) A 6-0 run by the Lady Eagles cut the deficit to 16, but the Cougars took a 45-25 lead into the intermission.
The second half was much of the same for Columbia. The Eagles climbed to within 17 at one point, but was never able to get any closer.
The Cougars received double-digit point totals from Jordan Alford (21), Morgan Brandt (16), Sarah Walters (14) and Mai Nienhueser (13). Ukari McKinney had a team-high ten rebounds. The Cougars shot 40.5-percent from the field and 33.3-percent from the 3-point line.
Ashlyn Ellis was the leading scorer for the Lady Eagles with 11 points. Williams Baptist shot 33.3-percent from the field and 3-of-16 from behind the 3-point arc.
The Cougars will host No. 5-seed William Woods Owls on Saturday at 3 PM in Columbia, Mo. This is the 17th-straight season the Cougars are in the semifinals.
Game two: No. 2-seed Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions def. No. 7-seed Harris-Stowe Hornets, 83-35
Freed-Hardeman uses a 21-3 first quarter run to advance to the semifinals
The Lady Lions and Hornets were tied at 4-4, until Freed-Hardeman closed out the first quarter on a 21-3 run. Freed-Hardeman used that momentum to push its lead to the 20-point plateau at the 8:50 mark in the second quarter.
The Lady Lions led by as many as 48 (83-35) in the game and held the Hornets to 24.6-percent (15-of-61) shooting.
Freed-Hardeman received 18 points from Sandrea Sylman, 16 points from Kim Mallory and 13 points from Kaylie Pope. The Lady Lions had 17 assists on 33 made field goals.
Jordan May and Kambri Davison paced the Hornets with eight-points each.
Freed-Hardeman advances to its fifth-straight tournament semifinal and will host No. 3-seed Lyon on Saturday, at 3 PM.
Game three: No. 3-seed Lyon Scots vs. No. 6-seed Missouri Baptist Spartans
The Scots never trailed in the contest
Lyon led by as many as 12 points (20-8) in the first quarter. The Spartans were able to cut the lead down to eight (20-12) in the second quarter, but wasn't able to cut into the lead any more.
The Scots led by as many 36 points (86-50) in the game and forced 18 turnovers.
Missouri Baptist shot 32.7-percent (18-of-55) from the field and went 12-of-14 from the foul line.
The Spartans were led in scoring by Briya Wilborn's 12 points. Shaylen Robinson and Chanel Brown added 11 and 10 points respectively.
Lyon placed four players in double-figures – Madison Riley scored a game-high 20 points, while Samantha French scored 12 points, Ali Tucker put in 11 points and Allison Tackett poured in 10 points.
The Scots shot 59.2-percent (29-of-49) from the field and had 22 assists on the 29 made baskets.
Lyon advances to the semifinals for the fifth-straight season and will face No. 2-seed Freed-Hardeman in a rematch of the previous three tournament championships. The game is on Saturday at 3 PM in Henderson, Tenn.
Game four: No. 5-seed William Woods Owls def. No. 4-seed Lindenwood-Belleville Lady Lynx, 86-80 (2OT)
The Owls come back from down 15 to win in double overtime
In just the second 2OT game in tournament history and the first since 2011-12, the Owls came out victorious to pull off the only upset of the quarterfinals.
The first quarter was competitive as William Woods held the largest lead at 10-4. The Lady Lynx ended the quarter on an 11-2 run to take the 15-12 advantage into the first break.
Lindenwood-Belleville held a steady lead in the second period, as the Owls climbed to within one point (24-23), but the Lady Lynx took the 29-25 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Lady Lynx seemed to take control as they led by a game-high 15 points (55-40) at the end of the period. The Lady Lynx closed the period on a 13-2 run.
William Woods kept chipping away at the lead in the final quarter. Down 66-64 and with the ball, Hannah Bland made a 2-point layup to tie the game at 66-66 with seven seconds left to force OT. The Owls outscored the Lady Lynx, 26-11, in the final period.
In the first OT period, neither team held more than a 2-point lead. The two team combined for three ties and two lead changes in the period.
The Owls used an 11-3 run to start the second overtime period to take control of the game at 83-75. The Lady Lynx cut it to five points, but never got any closer.
For the game, the two teams combined for nine ties and five lead changes.
William Woods shot 47.4-percent (37-of-78) from the field and was led in points by Jasmine Brown, who scored a career-high 34 points. Hannah Bland (20), Kaycee Gerald (16) and Peyton Greenlee (10) joined Brown in double-figures.
Gerald (14), Brown (12) and Bland (10) also reached double figures in rebounds for the Owls.
The Lady Lynx saw four players score in double-figures – Bria Lemirande (21), Alison Webb (19), Torre Kohrmann (19) and Brianna Mueller (16).
Webb brought down a game-high 18 rebounds in the loss.
William Woods advances to its second-straight semifinal game and will face top-seeded Columbia on Saturday at 3 PM in Columbia, Mo.
AMC Semifinal Schedule:
No. 1-seed Columbia Cougars vs. No. 5-seed William Woods Owls - Saturday| 3 PM | Columbia, Mo.
No. 2-seed Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions vs. No. 3-seed Lyon Scots – Saturday | 3 PM | Henderson, Tenn.