WPU Advances to Semis as Pennington Hits Career High
Oskaloosa–The rubber match between two rivals in postseason action had the makings of an instant classic, but the Statesmen women’s basketball team had other plans as it defeated #7 seed Grand View 80-48 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Wednesday.
Second-seeded and #19 William Penn (24-6) won its fifth game in a row, but more importantly marched into the semifinal round where it will face #3 seed and #20 nationally-ranked Clarke. WPU will host the Pride (25-6) Friday in Oskaloosa with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Statesmen and Pride split their two regular-season meetings with both road teams coming away victorious. WPU won 69-62 in Dubuque on December 2, while CU returned the favor with a 66-63 overtime victory in Oskaloosa on January 30.
Friday’s other semifinal matchup will feature #1 seed Central Methodist against #4 seed Evangel in Fayette, Mo.
The Vikings (17-14) opened Wednesday’s scoring with a three-pointer, but it was the only lead the visitors would hold all night. The navy and gold answered with 13 consecutive points and were on their way. GVU was able to trim the margin to three late in the quarter, but a bucket by Brenda Pennington (Sr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) gave the hosts a 16-11 edge after the first stanza.
Normally a pass-first type of point guard, Pennington carried her team early with 17 of William Penn’s first 24 points. Her teammates finally caught fire as well and the Statesmen headed to the locker room up 35-21.
At that juncture, the senior had 18 points and WPU was outshooting Grand View 40.0%-33.3%. The home squad was fortunately not slowed after the break, tallying a 22-15 edge in the third quarter and then blew the game wide open in the final period with a 23-12 advantage.
The Statesmen were more than competent from behind the arc in the first half at 7-for-12, but truly scorched the nets in the latter two quarters by going 6-for-9 for a final mark of 13-for-21 (61.9%). Pennington entered the night having made just 19 trifectas all year on 41.3% shooting, but on Wednesday she was 5-for-7 (11-for-15 overall) to finish with a career-high 28 points. She added three assists and two steals as well.
William Penn concluded the contest with a 44.4%-33.3% shooting edge. The victors were better in every notable category, including managing a 44-27 edge in rebounds and being on the winning side of a 15-10 mark in turnovers. The hosts outscored GVU 18-4 in second-chance points and 20-10 in points off turnovers.
Olivia Usher (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mathematics) was next in scoring for the Statesmen with 13 points, highlighted by going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. WPU ended up 11-for-15 at the charity stripe, while the Vikings made just eight of their 14 tries.
Haley Mullinnix (Jr., West Branch, Iowa, Sports Management) also joined the double-digit club with 12 points, going 4-for-5 from three-point land.
Kate Ylitalo (Sr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) contributed eight points, while Brittany West (Jr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) produced six points off the bench.
Speaking of the bench, William Penn was able to get everyone into the game and nearly everyone contributed offensively with 11 players scoring Wednesday. Autumn Voigt (Sr., Clintonville, Wis., Business Management) was not one of those 11, but she did dish out four assists, matching Usher in that department.
“I am very happy with the way our players stepped up tonight,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “I thought they played very hard on defense to limit Grand View’s offense.”
“Brenda Pennington was a stud tonight!” Williamson added. “She did so much for us, not only creating for her teammates, but also knocking down open shots. Haley Mullinnix also shot with a lot of confidence and Olivia Usher did a little bit of everything. We need to carry this effort and focus into our next game.”
