Strong Start Not Enough as Statesmen fall to Missouri Valley

Oskaloosa — The Statesmen women’s basketball team dropped a 70-57 decision to Missouri Valley in a Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.

The Statesmen women’s basketball team dropped a 70-57 decision to Missouri Valley in a Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.

William Penn started out hot and were able to pull out to a 8-4 lead when Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, Secondary Education) hit her first layup of the day.

Peoples went on to lead the Statesmen in scoring with 16. She also had the most assists for the team with three.

The lead grew to 21-8 when Dekota Smith (Fr., Toledo, Ohio, applied computer science) completed a three-point play. Missouri Valley answered with a push to close the first quarter at 21-14.

The Vikings cut the margin to 23-20 early in the second before Kayla Jones (Sr., Louisville, Ky., psychology) buried a three-pointer to spark a run that put WPU up 30-20 with 6:43 left in the half. Missouri Valley responded again, taking a 36-32 advantage into halftime.

Smith and Jones both finished with nine points, while Jones and Taylor Lawhorne (Sr., Amityville, N.Y., business management) shared the team lead with five rebounds apiece.

Missouri Valley continued its momentum in the second half, extending its lead to 50-42 by the end of the third quarter. The Vikings maintained control in the fourth to seal the win.

Neva’eh Diaz-Doolin (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) added eight points, while Breacia Carter (Jr., South Beloit, Ill., General Accounting) had six.

“We started the game with great energy and focus. Unfortunately, we were not able to maintain it for forty minutes.” Head Coach Sheawn Bedford said. “Missouri Valley is a tough team to beat, and I thought we competed all game with one of the best teams in the Heart.”