FULTON, Mo. – Liz Henderson had a career high 24 points and hit the eventual game-winner, on a fade away jump shot to give No. 13 Lyon College Women’s Basketball a 59-57 win over William Woods Saturday afternoon. The Owls had one final possession to try and tie it, but Lyon played strong defense and came out on top in Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Scots finished the road trip winning two out of three and are now 12-3 overall and 8-2 in the AMC. William Woods is 8-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Scots remain in sole possession of third place in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) and William Woods is right behind them in fourth.
The first quarter was about trading punches as both Lyon and William Woods countered one another with baskets. The quarter saw a total of four ties, before Tressa Linson nailed a three-pointer to give the Scots a 13-10 lead. Lyon continued to lead in the second quarter as Henderson scored three straight points and clung to a 19-16 lead with 6:33 left before the Owls tied it on a three-pointer by Peyton Greenlee. William Woods would overtake the lead from Lyon and end the second quarter with a 26-24 advantage.
Both teams would trade baskets again in the third, but the Scots made a small run with the game tied at 40. Oumy Ndoye and Henderson boosted Lyon to a 7-0 run. Lyon forced two Owls’ turnovers in the final minute to hold a 47-40 advatage after three quarters.
The Scots took just nine shots in the final quarter and led by as many as seven after Samantha French gave the team a 49-42 lead. William Woods would tie the game three minutes later at 52 with the rest of the game coming down to the wire. French would hit two straight baskets to put Lyon up two points with 3:51 left at 56-54, but the Owls did not go away as they tied the game at 57 with 44 second left after two free throws. Then with 18 seconds left, Henderson put the Scots ahead at 59-57 as she dribbled to the right corner, with a defender in her face and hit a fade away shot. One final defensive stand from Lyon would seal the game and put the Scots back on the winning track.
KEY STATISTICS
– Henderson led all scorers for Lyon with 24 points and eclipsed 500 for her career. French also scored in double-figures with 17.
– The Scots had a strong defensive game holding the Owls to 39.6 percent from the field.
– Lyon grabbed 28 rebounds as French led the way with six. Madison Riley and Ndoye followed with five and four rebounds apiece.
– Henderson and Ndoye finished perfect from the charity stripe to help Lyon go 8-for-11 from the line.
“The girls showed a lot of resolve today at the end of a three-game road swing,” said Tracy Stewart-Lange, head coach for the Scots. “We kept fighting and unlike Thursday we finished! Liz was so big for us and really just put us on her back. Sam had a nice game and finished well. We were struggling on offense through some stretches and our defense just hung in there and we were able to get some big stops when we had to have them – none bigger than the last possession. It was a big conference win on the road for this young group and I am very proud of them.”
The Scots return home to host No. 21 Lindenwood-Belleville on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
Image of Liz Henderson via Lyon College
Gary B. will update you with the latest sports tomorrow on Arkansas 103.3, 93 KZLE, and other W.R.D. Entertainment radio stations.
