#18 Statesmen Take Down #6 Pioneers in Pivotal Matchup
Vashti Nwagbaraocha had 18 points in the Statesmen win over Mid-American University.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa-It was a matchup of top-20 teams and a battle for first place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference as the #18 William Penn Statesmen hosted the #6 ranked MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers with WPU looking to avenge a loss take down in Olathe earlier this season.
William Penn (21-2, 16-2 Heart) played arguably one of its best games of the season when it mattered most defeating MidAmerica Nazarene (19-4, 16-3 Heart) 80-62.
The navy and gold outshot their counterpart from the field 46%-37% and from three-point range 44%-41%.
It wasn’t pretty for WPU early as MNU came out hot, going on a 14-3 run over the first five minutes of the game but the ladies recovered, due in large part to inspired play from Makenzie Pezley (So., Keokuk, Iowa, Elementary Education) off the bench. The sophomore scored eight points in the quarter to help cut into the Pioneer lead and get it down to 19-17 heading into the second.
The momentum carried over from the end of the first period into the second as William Penn was able to grab their first lead of the game with 6:41 left in the quarter, on a three-ball from Pezley on an assist from Jenna Santi (Sr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management). The teams went back-and-forth from there as they went into the half tied 33-33.
It has been known all year that the Statesmen play their best basketball in the second half and they proved it once more. The ladies outscored the visitors 47-29 over the final two periods, gaining their first double-digit advantage at the 3:40 mark of the third quarter on a free-throw from Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science). WPU cruised from that point and it eventually led to an 18-point rout.
Three players managed to reach double-digits in the scoring column led by an outstanding effort from Nwagbaraocha who had a game-high 29 points. The senior narrowly missed a double-double with eight rebounds. Pezely was huge for William Penn, scoring 14 points off the bench and grabbing five boards. Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind.) rounded out the trio with 10 points while also tallying eight assists.
Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) did not have her best night shooting the ball but contributed in many other ways as she grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. Santi assisted on five field-goals and Autumn Voigt (Jr., Clintonville, Wis., Business Management) also offered quality minutes off the bench with eight points and three steals.
The Statesmen forced 19 turnovers in the win while committing just 8 and won the battle of the boards 40-32.
“Wow what a game! MidAmerica is a great team that is very well coached,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said, “I thought our kids played with great determination and effort all game. We got great play off our bench and just can’t say enough about the effort this team played with today!”
Next Up: William Penn will have a quick turnaround as they will take on Clarke in the Penn Gymnasium on Monday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.
