The Central Methodist women earned a gutsy 69-66 last-second win over William Woods University Saturday afternoon in Fulton.

With the win, Central improves its overall record to 3-1, while the Owls fall to 1-3. The Lady Eagles’ only loss came on the road to non-conference rival Columbia College, 77-62, last Wednesday.

At Fulton on Saturday, the teams were neck and neck in a close opening quarter, with William Woods holding a narrow 18-17 lead at the end of the opening frame. The Lady Owls extended their lead to five points by the halftime break, 34-29.

William Woods began to pull away in the third quarter until the midway point when the Eagles began to edge closer.

Kaelyn Johnson came off the bench and provided a much-needed spark for Central in the third, going 3-for-3 from the field and scoring six points in just six minutes of action. 

Central trailed by five entering the fourth quarter but were able to outscore William Woods 20-12. Trailing 66-65 with under 10 seconds left, a steal by Sharay Trotter, followed by a layup from Tristan Porter, gave Central a 67-66 lead. 

CMU padded its lead with a pair of late free throws to go up 69-66. However, the Owls had an opportunity to tie the game after earning a foul from beyond the arc.

William Woods missed all three free throws in the final second of the game, giving CMU a three-point win.

Sa’Mya Stevens and Nautica Washington led the offense with 14 points apiece, while Johnson finished the day with 10 points. Trotter stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.

Porter, Bianca Bindzus, and Mary Copeland all chipped in six points. 

As a team, Central finished the evening shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the charity stripe. The Eagles won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Owls 51-40.

CMU returns home and will host MidAmerica Nazarene University to begin conference play at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) inside Puckett Field House.