William Penn Succumbs to Crusaders
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team will welcome a break from action after falling 94-61 to Evangel in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.
WPU (10-7, 10-6 Heart), which will not play again for nine days, will look to get healthy both physically and mentally for the final push of the season. The squad has been decimated by injuries this year and was playing Saturday’s contest without leading scorer Lakyla Moore (Jr., Norfolk, Neb., Business Management).
The day opened with Senior Day festivities as the squad’s lone senior Brittany West (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) was recognized. Unfortunately, that proved to be one of the few bright spots for the navy and gold.
WPU Rallies Past Wildcats with Outstanding Fourth Quarter
Canton, Mo.–The Statesmen women’s basketball team showed up when it mattered most to stave off an upset in a 68-57 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory over Culver-Stockton Friday.
William Penn (10-5, 10-4 Heart) led for most of the afternoon, but needed a 21-10 advantage in the final 10 minutes of action to pull away from the winless Wildcats (0-8, 0-6 Heart).
The visitors were severely depleted at the point guard position with Breanna Wendland (Jr., Richfield, Minn., Undecided) out of the lineup due to injury. The squad went just three deep into its bench, but that trio stepped up big, especially Morgan Terry (Jr., Cornersville, Tenn., Biology) who hit double figures with a near-perfect outing.
WPU Wins Sloppy Game in OT
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team overcame 26 turnovers to sneak past Heart of America Athletic Conference foe Park 65-58 in overtime Tuesday.
In the first matchup between the programs since the 1996-1997 campaign, William Penn (6-4, 6-3 Heart) denied the Pirates (1-8, 0-8 Heart) their first league win by limiting them to just 30.4% from the field. It was also the first overtime contest of the year for WPU, which shot 39.6% overall.
The navy and gold out of the gate, giving the ball away on five of their first seven possessions and falling behind 8-2 to Park. The hosts then scored five in a row, but could not capture the lead, eventually trailing 17-12 after 10 minutes of play. WPU committed nine turnovers in the opening period.
William Penn Claims Season Sweep of Mount Mercy
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team played much better in its second matchup with Mount Mercy, defeating the Mustangs 81-54 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Thursday.
The win, which is WPU’s seventh in its last eight games after starting 0-3, moves the program to 7-4 overall and 7-3 in the Heart. The Statesmen will now enjoy a lengthy break as it looks to get healthy for the back half of the league slate. William Penn returns to action on Wednesday, January 6 when it travels to Baldwin City, Kan. to take on Baker at 5:30 p.m.
Huge Run Helps Statesmen to Road Win
Cedar Rapids–The William Penn women’s basketball team overcame several issues to slip past Mount Mercy 57-51 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Thursday.
The Statesmen (5-4, 5-3 Heart), playing without starting point guard Maci Kuchta (Fr., Columbia, Mo., Biology) due to injury, trailed by as many as 11 points early in the third quarter, but rallied with an incredible 21 unanswered points. Still not out of the woods, the squad fought off the Mustangs (1-4, 1-4 Heart) down the stretch to claim victory.
Little went right for the visitors offensively in the first half as they trailed 23-20 at the break, including shooting just 26.9% from the field (16.7% 3-PT) and 36.4% from the free-throw line. Bailey Reardon (So., River Falls, Wis., Elementary Education), who entered averaging 9.8 points per game, unfortunately struggled to get anything going and suffered foul trouble.