WPU Hangs on Against Viterbo
Stevie Anderson had six points Saturday
Oskaloosa–All 12 Statesmen who hit the hardwood Saturday scored as WPU slipped past Viterbo 69-67 in Midwest Collegiate Conference women’s basketball action.
William Penn (7-10, 1-1 MCC) won the game on the defensive end. The hosts scored the game’s final points with 1:57 on the clock and then prevented the V-Hawks (4-15, 0-1 MCC) from scoring on their final three possessions which included four shot attempts. In the end, it came down to a missed three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Statesmen dominated the opening minutes, going up 18-4 just 6:58 into play. Unfortunately, Viterbo climbed back into action to trail by just four at halftime, 32-28.
Things continued to go south to start the second stanza as William Penn fell behind by as much as eight points at 45-37. The navy and gold finally got back on track with 11 unanswered. Neither side was able to pull too far away the rest of the way, however. Tied at 58 with 5:51 left, WPU eventually scored five in a row and never trailed again (two ties).
Janay Pritchett (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) came off the bench to pace the home squad with 12 points. William Penn narrowly outshot Viterbo 37.9%-36.8%.
Alyssa Phillips (So., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) was the next-highest scorer with nine points, while Jessie Kreuser (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn., Physical Education) had an eight-point afternoon. Kreuser also had team highs in rebounds (8), steals (4), and blocks (2). WPU lost the rebounding battle 47-41, but took advantage of its offensive rebounds with a 17-9 edge in second-chance points.
Six-point efforts came from four additional players: Katie Golomski (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology & Sociology), Briana McRae (So., Racine, Wis., Undecided), Stevie Anderson (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Digital Communication), and Destiny Spinner (Jr., Saginaw, Mich., Biology). Golomski’s distribution (six assists) was instrumental as well.
The Statesmen were better with ball possession, committing seven fewer mistakes (10-17). The victors made six more free throws as well (11-5).
“I thought we played with more grit and heart than we have in a while,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “It was good to see us fight off some adversity and stick together throughout.”
“Our young players were great early,” Brown added. “Stevie and Brynesha Mosby did a great job in defending Viterbo’s great guard. Destiny also came up huge in the second half and Jessie played with tenacity as well.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Omaha, Neb. Wednesday to face Grace in non-conference play at 7 p.m.
