Williams Steals a Win on the Road Over Stars

COLUMBIA, Mo. (2/5/26) – The Williams Baptist University women's basketball team came back from down eight points in the fourth quarter for its tenth road win of the season in an  80-78 victory over Stephens on Thursday night inside Silverthorne Arena.

Cha'Myrean Ellis led the Lady Eagles with 22 points.  Chelsea Hamilton followed up with 18, Joi Montgomery scored 15, and Sara Crowe finished with 12.  Taylor Hooten led the team on the boards with a season-high of 11 rebounds.

As a team, WBU went 28-of-52 (48.1 percent) from the field while Stephens shot at a 28-of-72 (38.9 percent) clip.  The Stars knocked down eight three-pointers to WBU's three, but WBU went 27-of-34 (79.4 percent) from the free throw line while Stephens had just 18 attempts (14-of-18, 77.8 percent).  WBU won the rebound battle 42-36.

The Lady Eagles got off to a quick lead after two free throws from Ellis sparked a 6-0 run.  WBU added on later in the quarter when Sara Crowe hit two foul shots to extend the early advantage to 15-5 with 3:04 in the first.  

Stephens stormed back in the second quarter to cut the lead to three with 5:21 left.  The Lady Eagles managed to keep the three point advantage intact despite going cold from the floor in the last six minutes of the first half, carrying a 31-28 lead into the break.

Stephens broke through to take the lead in the third quarter, and out-scored the Lady Eagles 25-14 in the period to take a 53-45 lead into the final 10 minutes.

WBU started the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the Stars lead to one.  After a back-and-forth battle, the Lady Eagles took the lead on a Sara Crowe jumper with 2:19 left in the game.  Williams extended the lead to 72-66 with a layup from Cha'Myrean Ellis with one minute on the clock.  

WBU converted on its final eight free throw attempts inside the final minute of the game, keeping the lead to the final buzzer despite two three-pointers from Stephens in the last 10 seconds.  The Lady Eagles outscored the Stars 35-25 in the final period.

The win moves Williams to 17-4 overall and 11-2 in American Midwest Conference play.  The Lady have now won 10 games on the road in back-to-back seasons, following up a 10-2 road mark last season.  

Next, WBU will travel to St. Louis, Mo. to face UHSP on Saturday, Feb. 7.  Tipoff against the Eutectics is set for 2 p.m. from the UHSP Gymnasium.