WBB Game Preview: No. 1 WBU vs No. 2 Columbia (Mar. 3 | 5:30 PM)

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (3/2/25) – The Williams Baptist University women's basketball team will face the No. 2 seed Columbia in the AMC Tournament Final on Monday, Mar. 3 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Southerland-Mabee Center

GAME INFORMATION

No. 1 (RV) WILLIAMS EAGLES (27-3, 21-1 AMC) vs No. 2 (RV) COLUMBIA COUGARS (27-3, 19-3 AMC)
Game Info: Monday, Mar. 3 - 5:30 p.m. CST - Southerland-Mabee Center (Walnut Ridge, Ark.) - AMC Tournament Final
Live stats: https://wbueagles.com/sports/wbkb/2024-25/boxscores/20250303_7wzr.xml
Live video: https://wbueagles.com/watch
Tickets: https://amcsportsonline.com/tickets 

MATCHUP FACTS

Last Meeting: Jan. 30, 2025 (WBU 67-62)
Current Streak: WBU W1

WBU QUICK FACTS

2024-25 Record: 27-3 (21-1 AMC)
Current Streak: W22
2023-24 Record: 24-7 (15-3 AMC)
2023-24 Postseason: Fell to William Carey 73-56 in the NAIA Tournament Opening Round
Head Coach: John Mayberry (8th season)
HC Record: 150-81 (110-55 AMC)
HC Record at WBU: Same
Assistant Coach: Kala Tyus (6th season)

ABOUT COLUMBIA

2024-25 Record: 27-3 (19-3 AMC)
Current Streak: W4
2023-24 Record: 27-5 (16-2 AMC)
2023-24 Postseason: Won the AMC Tournament over WBU 79-66, fell to Wayland Baptist 66-62 in the NAIA Tournament Opening Round
Head Coach: Matt Moore (1st season)
Assistant Coach: Jordan Chavis, Allison Helsel

COLUMBIA'S LAST TIME OUT

• Columbia defeated Mission 81-71 in the AMC Tournament Semifinals to advance to its fifth consecutive AMC Tournament Championship game

• Abby Backes led all scorers with 20 points in the contest

• AMC co-Sixth Woman of the Year Ashtyn Klusmeyer posted her second double-double of the season on 11 points and 11 rebounds

• The Cougars broke out for a 20-14 lead after the first quarter 

• Mission stormed back with an 8-0 run to end the second quarter to cut the Columbia lead to 37-35 at halftime

• Columbia kicked off the third on a 10-2 run to set the tone for the second half

• The Cougars out-scored the Patriots 21-11 to coast to the 81-71 win

• Columbia went 31-for-58 (53.4 percent) from the field while holding Mission to 38.2 percent shooting

• Columbia scored 28 second chance points and won the rebound battle 51-21

CC NOTABLES 

• Columbia has won three consecutive AMC Tournament titles

• CC defeated WBU in the AMC Tournament Championship in Columbia last season by the final score of 79-66

• Columbia scores an average of 78.2 points per game (2nd AMC), while allowing 56.1 points per game (1st AMC)

• Mallory Shetley leads the Cougars in scoring average with 16.6 points per game (7th AMC)

• Mya Miller leads the squad on the boards with 7.4 rebounds per game (6th AMC)

• The Cougars are second in the league in 3PT made per game with 7.9

• Columbia leads the league in rebounds per game (48.9), opponents rebounds per game (31.1), and rebound margin per game (17.8)

• The Cougars lead the AMC in offensive efficiency with a 1.102 rating

• CC finished the regular season in second place in the AMC standings with a 19-3 league record

• The Cougars will secure the AMC's second automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament no matter the result of the championship game

WBU'S LAST TIME OUT

• The Lady Eagles advanced to their second consecutive AMC Tournament Final after a 106-92 victory in overtime over Stephens on Saturday

• Charmen Taylor tied the WBU record for points scored in a game with 40, while Carmen Taylor followed with 35

• As a team, the Lady Eagles went 36-for-70 (51.4 percent) from the field 

• Williams tied the AMC Tournament record for free throws made in a game with 30, and set the record for free throw attempts for 38

• Williams lost the rebound battle 37-35

• The Lady Eagles converted 26 Stars turnovers into 39 points

• WBU set the AMC Tournament record for points in a first overtime with 20

• After Stephens missed two free throws with five seconds left, Charmen Taylor tied the game at 86 with a last-second layup 

• The Lady Eagles began the period on a 10-2 run 

• WBU forced six turnovers in the final five minutes to win the period 20-6 and take the victory 

WILLIAMS NOTABLES

• The Lady Eagles have set a new program record for wins in a season at 27, topping the previous best of 25 set in 1983-84

• The Lady Eagles will play host to the American Midwest Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Presented by TandemHR on Feb. 28-Mar. 3.  

• Kaylee Isaacs (Clark) is now the all-time leading scorer for Williams Baptist University women's basketball with 2,000 total points.  She surpassed Angela Flippo's all-time career record on Thursday, Feb. 6 against Crowley's Ridge.

• Isaacs passed Jessica Shepard to become the all-time leader in career three-pointers at WBU with her 193rd make from deep against Central Baptist on Feb. 13

• Carmen Taylor became the seventh member of the 1,000 point club at WBU with 11 points against Mission on Feb. 11.  She is the first Eagle to join the club after only two seasons.

• Taylor has passed Kaylee Isaacs for the school record for field goals in a season at 233

• Carmen Taylor was named the AMC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring 59 points across two wins against Hannibal-LaGrange and Cottey

• Carmen Taylor leads the American Midwest Conference in scoring average at 20.5 PPG (9th Nationally), with a season high of 37 against Hannibal-LaGrange (Feb. 21)

• Kaylee Isaacs is tied for fourth in the conference in scoring average with 16.9 points per game and a season-high of 35 against Mission (Feb. 11)

• Isaacs also leads the Lady Eagles on the glass with an average of 6.8 rebounds per game (13th AMC), highlighted by a 15 rebound performance against Harris-Stowe (Jan. 23)

• Williams is tied for second in the nation in scoring with an average of 91.3 points per game

• The Lady Eagles are 15-1 inside the Southerland-Mabee Center this season

• WBU finished in first place in the AMC regular season standings with a conference record of 21-1

• The Lady Eagles 21 conference wins is a new school record for the most conference wins in a season

• WBU received top 25 votes in the Final NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Poll released on Feb. 26

• 2023-24 and 2024-25 are the first consecutive 20+ win seasons for WBU women's basketball since the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons

• Williams is coming off its first NAIA Tournament appearance in program history in 2023-24

• WBU has already earned an automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament after winning the AMC regular season championship

• The Eagles were picked to finish third in the AMC Preseason Coaches Poll

EAGLES EARNED HONORS

WBU earned 10 different individual awards at the AMC Women's Basketball Awards Banquet on Thursday night.

• AMC Player of the Year: Carmen Taylor

• AMC Coach of the Year: John Mayberry

• AMC co-Sixth Woman of the Year: Sara Crowe

• AMC First Team All-Conference: Kaylee Isaacs, Carmen Taylor

• AMC Second Team All-Conference: Charmen Taylor

• AMC All-Conference Honorable Mention: Monica Horne, Taylor Hooten

• AMC All-Defensive Team: Carmen Taylor, Charmen Taylor

• AMC Champions of Character Team: Monica Horne

AMC TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS
All games held inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on the campus of Williams Baptist University

Friday, Feb. 28

Game 1 - No. 2 COLUMBIA 76-62 No. 7 MISSOURI BAPTIST
Game 2 - No. 3 MISSION 94-67 No. 6 WILLIAM WOODS - 2:15 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 1 WILLIAMS BAPTIST 117-58 No. 8 CENTRAL BAPTIST - 5:15 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 4 STEPHENS 63-51 No. 5 COTTEY - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Mar. 1

Game 5 - No. 2 COLUMBIA 81-71 No. 3 MISSION - 1:00 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 1 WILLIAMS BAPTIST 106-92 No. 4 STEPHENS - 3:30 p.m.

Monday, Mar. 3

Game 7 - No. 1 WILLIAMS BAPTIST vs No. 2 COLUMBIA - 5:30 p.m.

AMERICAN MIDWEST CONFERENCE FINAL STANDINGS

1 Williams Baptist (21-1)
2 Columbia (19-3)
3 Mission (18-4)
4 Stephens (17-5)
5 Cottey (15-7)
6 William Woods (9-13)
7 Missouri Baptist (9-13)
8 Central Baptist (8-14)
9 Harris-Stowe (6-16)
10 UHSP (6-16)
11 Crowley's Ridge (4-18)
12 Hannibal-LaGrange (0-22)

The top eight teams in the AMC standings will participate in the AMC Tournament at the end of the season, hosted by the number one seed.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• WBU will learn its first round matchup in the NAIA National Tournament during the NAIA Women's Basketball Selection Show on Thursday, Mar. 6 at 6 p.m.

• The first round of the NAIA Tournament is scheduled for Friday, Mar. 14 at campus sites around the country

• Williams' 2024-25 schedule features 14 home games inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on the campus of Williams Baptist University