WPU Falls Short of Upsetting Defending Champion Clarke
The Statesmen women’s basketball team won the third quarter and was within striking distance, but could not finish off the rally as it fell 84-66 to #4 Clarke in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener Saturday.
WPU (1-4, 0-1 Heart) was outshot 40.0%-30.8% and outrebounded 55-44, but committed a season-low 12 turnovers. The visitors pulled to within five points in the third period, but were not able to get any closer to the defending NAIA national champion Pride (3-0, 1-0 Heart).
Paced by five early points from Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation), the Statesmen led 7-5 over CU, only to see the home squad score six in a row and eventually go up 25-19 after 10 minutes of play.
The margin grew to 12 points before WPU went on an 8-0 run to get within four at 33-29 midway through the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Pride closed strong for a 43-32 edge at intermission.
The Statesmen continued to battle, scoring seven straight, capped by a Roberts’ three-pointer to make one final push at 50-45 with 3:43 to go in the third. Clarke answered right back, though, and kept the navy and gold in the rearview the remaining of the afternoon.
Headlined by three trifectas, Roberts finished with a team-best 16 points. WPU held a 10-9 edge in three-pointers, but only made 29.4% of its tries (CU was 40.0% from behind the arc).
Faith Putz (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa, Business Management) was next with 14 points, including going 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Overall, the Statesmen were strong at the stripe at 16-for-20 (80.0%).
Aliyah Myers (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Business Management) hit double figures as well with 10 points in addition to five assists.
Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) finished with nine points and a squad-high nine rebounds, while Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management) topped the bench personnel with eight points.
Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) also added six points in Saturday’s setback.
Despite committing one fewer turnover than CU (the Pride had 13), the home team outscored William Penn 8-5 in points off mistakes. The rebounding deficit also led to a 17-7 disadvantage in second-chance points for the visiting squad.
“I am very proud of our effort and level of competitiveness today,” Head Coach Joe McKinstry said. “We now have to be able to take the positives from this afternoon and build upon them. I felt like we took steps in the right direction against a great program in Clarke.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Graceland in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.
