Statesmen FT Strength Falls Short in Road Loss to AIB
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Des Moines–The William Penn women’s basketball team fared well at the charity stripe, but was unable to parlay that into a road win, falling 90-82 to AIB in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday.
The Statesmen (10-15, 2-7 MCC) were outshot 53.2%-35.7%, but were able to challenge the Eagles (7-17, 4-6 MCC) by going 33-for-42 at the free-throw line and making nine shots from behind the arc.
The first half witnessed four ties and two lead changes with WPU last up 23-22 at the 5:42 mark. The navy and gold led 23-19, but gave up seven unanswered and never led again.
WPU’s deficit was eight at halftime (40-32) and grew to as much as 19 (64-45) with 11:50 left before the visitors rallied. An 11-2 run in less than two minutes pulled the Statesmen to seven points at the 5:12 mark. The Eagles pushed their advantage back up to ten, but William Penn had one more run in its tank to get within four with 1:28 on the clock. Three-pointers by Susan Smith (Sr., Eugene, Ore., Biology) and Katie Golomski (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology & Sociology) highlighted the final rally.
Unfortunately, AIB made its final four free throws, while the Statesmen were unsuccessful in their last three possessions.
William Penn made just six field goals in the first half (20.7%), but made up for that with a strong 17-for-19 free-throw showing. The second half was much better as WPU was 51.9% from the field.
Brittany May (Sr., Gladstone, Ore., Biology) topped the Statesmen with 22 points, including four three-pointers. The senior tallied 17 points in the second period. Golomski also reached double figures with 14 points (3 3-PT).
Alyssa Phillips (Fr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) had nine points, while Dani Stahle (Sr., South Weber, Utah, History/Government & Psychology) did all of her damage at the line with a perfect 8-for-8 performance.
Megan Evangelista (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn., Biology) also had eight points, and Smith added three assists and two steals to her six-point night.
AIB also found success at the charity stripe, finishing 22-for-25. William Penn was better on the glass (38-30), including a 16-9 edge on the offensive end which led to six extra second-chance points for the visiting squad (18-12). The Statesmen committed three more turnovers, 14-11, resulting in an 18-15 AIB margin in points off mistakes.
Next: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids Saturday to face Mount Mercy in MCC play at 1 p.m.
