Eagles Eclipse Stars; Advance to AMC Championship Game

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (2/28/26) – The Williams Baptist University women's basketball team punched its ticket to the American Midwest Conference Tournament championship game after a 71-64 win over Stephens in the semifinal round on Saturday night.

The Lady Eagles move on to the AMC Tournament championship game for the third consecutive year, where they will face Columbia.  Tipoff against the Cougars is set for 4 p.m. on Monday, March 2, inside W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse.

Joi Montgomery led the scoring charge with a double-double on 23 points and 10 rebounds.  Montgomery was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in the win.

Chelsea Hamilton followed up with 14 points on the night, and Cha'Myrean Ellis dropped 12. Taylor Hooten led the team in assists with six.

As a team, WBU went 22-of-46 (47.8 percent) from the field.  Stephens controlled the rebound battle, but the Lady Eagles scored 27 points off 21 Stars turnovers.

The teams traded baskets early, but Montgomery's three started a 7-0 WBU run, putting them up 21-14 after the first quarter.

Stephens narrowed the gap to three late in the second, but Ellis's layup sparked a 6-0 WBU run. Williams led by seven at halftime.

The Stars came out of the locker room with a 10-2 run to close the gap and take the lead 40-39.  Tied at 43, Montgomery scored on a layup to kickstart a 13-3 run with a three-point exclamation from Chelsea Hamilton at the end of the quarter to regain the lead at 56-46.

With the Eagles ahead by five, Stephens had the ball with an opportunity to close the gap with 30 seconds left, but Chelsea Hamilton iced the game with a steal and a pair of free throws on the other end to send Williams to the championship game.

The win moves WBU to 24-4 overall on the season.  The Lady Eagles tied the record for the third-most wins in a season in program history.