WBU Punches Ticket to AMC Championship Game

COLUMBIA, Mo. (3/2/24) - For the first time in program history the Williams Baptist women's basketball program will compete for an American Midwest Conference championship. 

The No. 3 Lady Eagles defeated No. 2 Stephens 102-88 in a wire-to-wire victory Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the AMC Conference Tournament presented by Tandem HR at the Arena at Southwell Complex on the Columbia College campus.

WBU will take on No.  1 Columbia on Monday, March 4. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. 

"I couldn't be more proud of this team," Williams head coach John Mayberry said. "To be able to do something that has never been done in the history of this program is truly exciting but we know we still have work to do."

Williams never trailed in the game and got off to a scorching start, going on a 14-2 run over the first 5:36 of the game. Carmen Taylor scored five of her game-high 26 points during the run, while Taylor Hooten knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

Hooten was instrumental to WBU's success at both ends of the floor. She scored 23 points and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. She dished out six assists and also grabbed six rebounds and played all 40 minutes. 

Defensively she played lockdown defense on the Stars' best guards and helped keep them from finding any type of rhythm in the first quarter as the Lady Eagles raced out to a 33-13 advantage. 

Williams maintained its double-digit lead until late in the fourth quarter when the Stars used a 23-4 run to get within 93-85 with two minutes to go in the contest. The Lady Eagles went over seven minutes without a field goal during the run, but Carmen Taylor and Kaylee Clark broke the seal on the basket with a layup to push the lead by to double-digits at 97-85 and it would never get to single digits again.

"We knew Stephens would make a run at some point, we just had to be ready for it," Mayberry said. "We were getting good looks during their run, but shots just weren't falling for us. Thankfully we were able to withstand it and right ourselves in the final minutes."

Clark finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Charmen Taylor had 16 points and five assists. Sara Crowe had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, seven of which came in the first quarter.

Stephens settled offensively in the second quarter, but Williams Baptist continued to match them step for step and outpaced the Stars 29-26 in scoring the stanza. Carmen Tayor scored 11 points in the second quarter, while as a team the Lady Eagles went 18-of-22 from the charity stripe. 

The 102 points scored by Williams is the most ever by any team in the AMC Tournament, while, the 33 points were the most ever in the first quarter by a team and the second most overall for any quarter. Williams holds the record of 40 points against William Woods in 2019.

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