LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell women's basketball team returns home for two tough tests this week, hosting Washburn on Tuesday and Northwest Missouri State on Saturday afternoon.

CARDINAL NOTES

• Jewell is coming off a 68-52 loss to Newman University last Wednesday on the road. The Cardinals held tough for a half but a cold second half allowed the Jets to break away for the win. 
• Ayden Shannon has picked up right where she left off last winter, coming into the new week averaging 18.0 points per game to go with 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. The junior is currently fifth in the league in point per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and a blistering 57.1% from three. 
• Despite most often being one of, if not the smallest player on the floor, Bree Shannon is tied for the team lead with 5.5 rebounds per game. All of her boards come on the defensive end, putting her seventh in the GLVC in defensive rebounds per game in the early part of the season. 
• Paris Opelt and Maja Komaszynska have been a strong duo off the bench for the Cardinals through the first two games. Both rookies are averaging better than 20 minutes per game, chipping in a combined 11 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. The Jewell bench has outscored its opponent in each of the first two contests, led by Opelt and Komaszynska. 
• Another player, who has come off the bench to provide much needed offense is Kirsten Hauck who scored eight points in the fourth quarter at Newman, hitting two triples. The rookie out of Waukee, Iowa has added 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game early and will take on former high school teammates Peyton Kelderman and Lindsey Kelderman who now play for Northwest Missouri State. In total, there will be five players from Waukee on Saturday as the Bearcats also have Waukee Northwest graduates Aliyah Al-Hameed and Sadie Maas on the roster. 
• The Cardinals have garnered a reputation for being tough to turnover, currently ranked second nationally, averaging just 10 per game after being the NCAA Division II statistical champion in the same category in 2023-2024. The team is also forcing more than 17 per game to rank second in the GLVC with a turnover margin of 7.50.  
• The Cardinals come into the week, shooting just 25% from long range but despite some early woes from behind the three point line the defense is even better, holding opponents to just 20%, 24th best in the nation. 
• Head coach Kyley Bachand welcomed not only 10 newcomers to her on-court team this fall but also a new addition to her family with the arrival of daughter Hazley on October 23. She has returned to the sideline for the Cardinals quickly while first year assistant coach Carson Huelle has also taken on a large role in the early season preparation.