WPU Gives Up Lead Late in Loss to GU
As good as it was in the first half, the Statesmen women’s basketball team failed to match that performance in the second stanza as it fell 71-70 to Graceland in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.
Oskaloosa–As good as it was in the first half, the Statesmen women’s basketball team failed to match that performance in the second stanza as it fell 71-70 to Graceland in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.
WPU (1-5, 0-2 Heart), which has now had three games be decided by one possession and another one go to overtime, experienced another heartbreak in its setback to the Yellowjackets (3-2, 1-0 Heart).
Up by as many as 18 points just prior to intermission, the Statesmen led from the opening tip until the final minute when GU finished off its comeback victory.
The hosts scored the first seven points of the contest and had little trouble putting the ball in the hoop in the opening period as they pulled out to a 22-14 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter was even more fruitful with William Penn eventually going ahead 45-27 just before the break.
The navy and gold shot 53.1% in the first half and were up 15 on Graceland at intermission (47-32), but the same squads did not come out of the locker room.
WPU’s margin was cut to six early in the third, but the home team answered the rally and pushed its advantage back to double digits entering the final period.
Following another spurt by GU, a jumper by Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) made it 64-57 in favor of the hosts with less than five minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately, the Statesmen could not hold off GU as they were outscored 14-6 down the stretch. The Yellowjackets eventually tied the game at 67-67 with 1:04 remaining and then took the lead with 33 seconds on the clock.
William Penn then came up empty on the other end of the floor and Graceland tacked on a pair of insurance free throws.
WPU finished with a slightly better effort from the field at 41.9%-41.5%. The Statesmen also held a 39-35 edge in rebounds and outscored GU 11-5 at the free-throw line. Unfortunately, the visitors had a huge showing from the perimeter with 12 three-pointers (52.2%), while William Penn finished at 7-for-21 from deep.
Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation) hit three of those long balls en route to a team-high 21 points. Faith Putz (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa, Business Management) was next with 13 points, while the duo of Hames and Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) both reached double figures with 10 points apiece. Hames recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds as well.
Aliyah Myers (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Business Management) and Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management) both scored five points; Myers excelled much more in distribution, however, with 11 assists in addition to three steals.
Despite committing two more turnovers (19-17) than Graceland, the navy and gold actually posted a 23-19 edge in points off mistakes.
“This one is tough,” Head Coach Joe McKinstry said. “We did a lot of really good things tonight, but obviously there is still more work to be done. We had some solid individual performances in terms of statistics, but I thought Mercer Roberts and Alyssa Hames were especially good, considering they were also guarding Graceland’s most talented player all night. We just have to take the positives from tonight and build on them for Saturday.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Parkville, Mo. Saturday to face Park in Heart play at 3 p.m.
