The William Jewell women's basketball team built a 19 point first half lead which ultimately led them to a 64-41 win over Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center. The Cardinals move to 8-10 overall and 4-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
In the opening quarter the two teams struggled offensively as each suffered through missed shots and turnovers for majority of the first five minutes. With 5:16 to go in the opener,
Maddie Nelson hit two free throws to give Jewell a 9-4 lead they would never relinquish. By the end of the first eight minutes the Cardinals held a 17-5 advantage.
Katie Finn hit back-to-back three pointers at the 6:35 mark of the second frame to cap a 9-0 run and push the Cardinal lead to 19. While the Tritons went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within 14 the Cardinals held a 34-16 lead at the break, after a
Hayden Butler three with 26 seconds remaining in the half.
After suffering through some dismal second halves throughout the season the Cards were able to keep UMSL at bay and even expanded on their lead to 23 in the third quarter. After Finn and Nelson powered the way in the opening half, it was
Chris Keys who scored five points and pulled down three rebounds to lead the way in the third period.
A three point shot by
Adriana Rodriguez with just under three minutes to play gave Jewell their biggest lead of the game at 64-37 before a lay up and two free throws from the Tritons brought the score to the final of 64-41.
Overall, UMSL narrowly out shot Jewell however the Cardinals committed just eight turnovers while forcing 18 which turned into 23 points for Jewell. The Cards also won the battle on the boards pulling down 44 rebounds including 20 on the offensive end, compared to just 33 total for UMSL. The Jewell bench also came up big as they outscored their opponent 22-9.
Nelson posted her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and ten rebounds to go along with four assists and four steals. Finn followed close behind at 14 points including four-of-seven from behind the arc. Keys came off the bench to put up 11 points and eight boards.
The Cardinals will wrap up the four game home stand next weekend as they host Lewis on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. followed by UW-Parkside on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
