Statesmen Snap Skid With 67-63 Win Over Missouri Baptist
Oskaloosa, Iowa — The Statesmen women’s basketball team ended a four-game losing streak Saturday, earning a 67-63 Heart of America Athletics Conference victory over Missouri Baptist.
The Statesmen (6-13, 3-8) and Spartans (5-12, 4-7) had similar shooting performances, with William Penn shooting 35.8% to Missouri Baptist’s 36.1%, while being outrebounded 44-27. The Statesmen forced 18 turnovers while committing only 10.
William Penn opened the scoring when Breacia Carter (Jr., South Beloit, Ill., General Accounting) hit a three-pointer. Cortlynn Jackson (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Sports Management) followed with another to give the Statesmen a 6-0 lead.
William Penn kept the pressure on and extended its advantage to 11-2.
Missouri Baptist responded with a 16-2 run to take the lead before Dekota Smith (Jr., Toledo, Ohio, Computer Science) hit a three-pointer to end the first quarter with Missouri Baptist leading 18-16.
Smith had a solid outing, finishing with seven points and five rebounds.
The Spartans opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and went on a run to take a 31-20 lead in the first five minutes. The teams stayed consistent the rest of the half, with Missouri Baptist leading 39-30 at the break.
Jackson opened the second-half scoring with another three-pointer. The Statesmen worked to cut the deficit to four when the Spartans led 45-41 with 6:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Missouri Baptist extended its lead again before the navy and gold roared back to cut the deficit to three at 50-47 with three minutes left in the period.
The Spartans held a 56-53 advantage at the end of the quarter.
The Spartans opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to add some cushion.
William Penn responded with a run to tie the game at 59-59 with 5:37 left.
The teams remained close and were tied at 63-63 until Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, Nursing) made a free throw to give William Penn a one-point lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Peoples finished with nine points and added six rebounds.
After the Spartans missed a pair of free throws, Smith was fouled and converted a free throw to put William Penn ahead 65-63 with 1.6 seconds left.
Aliya Wagamon (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Psychology) forced a Missouri Baptist turnover to regain possession and draw another foul. Peoples made both free throws to seal the victory.
Taylor Lawhorne (Sr., Amityville, N.Y., Business management) and Wagamon were strong off the bench, Lawhorne finishing with 10 points, while Wagamon had five.
Kayla Jones (Sr., Louisville, Ky., Psychology) led the Statesmen with five assists.
“Great team win at home! I’m really proud of our determination and fight. We were without two starters and one rotational player off the bench today.” Head Coach Sheawn Bedford Jr. said, “Cortlynn Jackson played phenomenal. She played big time minutes, and hit huge shots. I’m so happy for her. Cortlynn is exactly what I want our program to stand for.”
Jackson led the squad in scoring with 20 in her first start on the season.
Next Up: The Statesmen are back on the road as it travels to Des Moines to take on Grand View in conference play on Wednesday.
