WBB Game Preview: No. 1 WBU vs No. 4 Stephens (Mar. 1 | 3:30 PM)

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (2/28/25) – The Williams Baptist University women's basketball team will take on No. 4 seeded Stephens in the semifinal round of the American Midwest Conference Tournament presented by TandemHR.

GAME INFORMATION

No. 1 (RV) WILLIAMS EAGLES (25-3, 21-1 AMC) vs No. 5 STEPHENS STARS (21-8, 17-5 AMC)
Game Info: Saturday, Mar. 1 - 3:30 p.m. CST - Southerland-Mabee Center (Walnut Ridge, Ark.) - AMC Tournament Semifinals
Live stats: https://wbueagles.com/sports/wbkb/2024-25/boxscores/20250301_nesj.xml
Live video: https://wbueagles.com/watch
Tickets: https://amcsportsonline.com/tickets 

MATCHUP FACTS

Last Meeting: Feb. 1, 2025 (WBU 72-69)
Current Streak: WBU W4

WBU QUICK FACTS

2024-25 Record: 26-3 (21-1 AMC)
Current Streak: W21
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: 149-81 (109-55 AMC)
HC Record at WBU: Same
Assistant Coach: Kala Tyus (6th season)

ABOUT STEPHENS

2024-25 Record: 21-8 (17-5 AMC)
Current Streak: W8
2023-24 Record: 23-8 (16-2 AMC)
2023-24 Postseason: Defeated Pikeville (Ky.) in the NAIA Tournament Opening Round 84-69, fell to Marian (Ind.) 63-49 in the second round.
Head Coach: Andre Bell (4th season)
Assistant Coach: Daryl Betts, Kayel Newland, Misty Ransdell, LaDaja Whitt

SC NOTABLES

• Stephens defeated Cottey 63-51 in the AMC Tournament quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal round of the bracket

• LaiJanique Perry-Ellis led the scoring charge with 16 points

• Chu Crockett finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the year

• The Stars held a slim 34-30 lead at halftime

• The Stars held Cottey to 9.1 percent shooting from the field in the third to extend its lead to 48-36 at the end of the stanza

• SC won the rebound battle 37-29

• Stephens shot 23-for-54 (42.6 percent) from the field

• Cottey held the Stars to just 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc

• Stephens scores an average of 70.2 points per game (4th AMC), while allowing 56.3 points per game (2nd AMC)

• LaiJanique Perry-Ellis leads the Stars in scoring average with 16.6 points per game (T-6th AMC)

• Syderah Farmer leads the squad on the boards with 5.5 rebounds per game (24th AMC)

• The Stars are second in the league in FG% at 43.8 percent

• SC ranks second in the league in steals per game (10.2) and opponents turnovers per game (19.7)

• Stephens finished the regular season in fourth place in the AMC standings with a 17-5 league record

LAST TIME OUT

• The Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals after a 117-58 victory over Central Baptist on Friday

• Carmen Taylor and Kaylee Isaacs led the team with 22 points each

• Taylyn Davis scored 19 points off the bench

• Taylor Hooten added on 12 points and nine assists

• As a team, the Lady Eagles went 40-for-78 (54.1 percent) from the field and (12-for-28) from three-point range

• Kaylee Isaacs finished with the second most three-pointers in an AMC Tournament game with six

• Williams lost the rebound battle 45-43

• The Lady Eagles converted 45 Mustang turnovers into 48 points

WBU NOTABLES

• The Lady Eagles have set a new program record for wins in a season at 26, 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 222

• 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 20.0 PPG (T-12th Nationally), with a season high of 37 against Hannibal-LaGrange (Feb. 21)

• Kaylee Isaacs ranks third in the conference in scoring average with 17.1 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 7.0 rebounds per game (11th AMC), highlighted by a 15 rebound performance against Harris-Stowe (Jan. 23)

• Sara Crowe leads the AMC in FG% with a 55.8 percent mark

• Charmen Taylor follows right behind in second at a 54.5 percent clip

• Williams is third in the nation in scoring with an average of 90.8 points per game

• 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

• Williams went undefeated in the month of January

• 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

• 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 COLUMIA vs No. 3 MISSION - 1:00 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 1 WILLIAMS BAPTIST vs No. 4 STEPHENS - 3:30 p.m.

Monday, Mar. 3

Game 7 - GAME 5 WINNER vs GAME 6 WINNER - 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

• Should WBU win this matchup, the Lady Eagles will face the winner of Columbia and Mission in the AMC Tournament championship on Monday, Mar. 3 at 5:30 p.m. from inside the Southerland-Mabee Center

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