LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell women's basketball team returns to action this weekend as they host Drury (7-3). With the NCAA-II mandatory seven-day break ending later than normal, the first conference slate of 2025 is scheduled for Friday as opposed to the traditional Thursday evening.

CARDINAL NOTES

• Jewell closed the 2024 calendar year with a big 82-54 win over Ottawa University in non-conference action. The Cardinals will face league opponents the rest of the way beginning with three of the top five in the current standings.
• Against Ottawa, rookie Paris Opelt was key on the glass, grabbing a career high eight rebounds. On the season, the Cardinals are being out-rebounded by an average of 10 per night but pulled down a season best 40 against Ottawa. 
• Leading the rebounding game is redshirt freshman Ella Bockenstedt who, since return from injury, has done nothing but get better and better. The Marion, Iowa native enters the week averaging 5.1 points and a team best 4.9 boards while shooting 43% from the floor and 80% from the free throw line. After nearly grabbing a double-double in the GLVC opener against Illinois Springfield, she got her first career start on December 18 where she had six points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.  
• After Third Team All-GLVC honors a year ago, despite ranking fourth in scoring, Ayden Shannon has proven even better this time around. The junior is second in the league with 18 points per game and fifth with a 47.7% clip from the floor. 
• Jewell shot a season high 46.7% from the floor in the lopsided win over Ottawa to close the 2024 calendar year. On the season, they are hitting just 38% but that number is trending upward, as the Cards are shooting 42% over their last four games.  
• After a bit of a slow start offensively, Kate Hillyer has found her stride just in time for conference play. The senior scored 20 points against Ottawa, just two shy of her career high, to raise her average to 12.4 points per game while also helping out with four boards, 1.4 assists, and nearly one steal. Additionally, she has been superb from the free throw line, coming into the new year ranked sixth in the GLVC with an 82.1% clip. 
• As a team, the Cardinals have struggled with consistency from the free throw line, hitting just 68.7% but have been one of the best at creating opportunities for free points. Jewell is seventh in the GLVC and among the top-60 nationally in free throws made per game (13.89) and free throws attempted per game (20.22). The Cardinals have shot at least 20 free throws in five of their first nine games. 
• While free throws are a key part of Jewell's game, assists have also proven to be an important metric. In the team's three wins and their one-point loss to Southwest Baptist, the Cardinals handed out double-digit assists in each contest. The Shannon sisters, Bree and Ayden, lead that charge with 2.6 and 2.1, respectively.  
• The Cardinals will be led by Ayden Shannon and Hillyer offensively but will need a regular third contributor in the scoring column. Thus far, Kirsten Hauck has filled that role nicely, adding nine points per game with flashes of scoring in bunches while Bree Shannon, Caitlin Behling, and Morgan Ives have also scored in double figures at least once this season.