Lady Eagles Advance to Semifinals Behind Historic Performance

COLUMBIA, Mo. (3/1/24) - Freshman Sara Crowe broke an American Midwest Conference Tournament record with 11 blocks as the No. 3 Williams Baptist Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinal round with a 73-55 victory over No. 6 Cottey Friday afternoon at the Arena at Southwell Complex on the Columbia College campus. 

The Lady Eagles (23-5) advance to take on No. 2 Stephens on Saturday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. for the right to move on to Monday's championship game. WBU and the Stars split the season series, with each winning a game on their home floor. 

Crowe was a dominant force in the paint for Williams and shattered the previous tournament mark of eight blocks set by Megan Aubochon of William Woods in 2012. The 11 blocks also broke the Williams school record of seven blocks, which was held by Teara Walker (2019) and Myranda Evans (2006).

"I was incredibly proud of the way we played this afternoon against a very good Cottey team," WBU head coach John Mayberry said. "Sara gave us a boost on the defensive end and really allowed us to get out and run in the third quarter when we were really able to pull away a little bit."

The first half was a back-and-forth contest with Cottey keeping the Lady Eagles at bay offensively. WBU shot just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes and held a slim 32-31 advantage at halftime. 

All that changed in the third quarter, however, when Williams opened on an 18-4 run that all but put the game out of reach. Everyone on the floor contributed during the run, but perhaps no sequence punctuated the run more than when Monica Horne drove in the paint, scored, was fouled and made the free throw for an old fashioned 3-point play. 

On the next trip down she scored again on a fantastic pass from Taylor Hooten and the Lady Eagles were rolling. 

Kaylee Clark led the way for Williams with 19 points, including eight in the first quarter. However she was limited to just two points in the second period when Cottey seemed to have found a bit of a rhythm to stopping the Lady Eagles, but the First-Team All-Conference selection would not be denied as she found a way to get the hoop and the free throw line in the second half.

Fellow First-Team All-Conference selection Carmen Taylor added 15 points, while AMC All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Taylor Hooten had 13 points. Second-Team All-Conference pick Charmen Taylor led the squad with 12 rebounds.

Crowe spread her blocks out over the course of all four quarters, but really helped give the Lady Eagles a boost in the third quarter when she swatted two away in less than a minute to help the Lady Eagles continue their big run. 

This will be Williams Baptist's second straight appearance in the AMC semifinals after the squad advanced to the round last year where it lost to Columbia. 

All tickets for the American Midwest Conference tournament must be purchased through the AMC ticket portal at www.amcsportsonline.com/tickets.