That Defense Though! Statesmen Win 64-52 Over Evangel
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team has been hanging its hat on its defensive effort all season and Saturday continued that trend as the Statesmen defeated Evangel 64-52 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
For the third-straight game and sixth time this season (all WPU wins), William Penn (7-3, 6-1 Heart) reached its goal of keeping the opposition under 60 points. In many of those previous wins, the navy and gold forced a plethora of turnovers, but against the Crusaders (4-6, 3-4 Heart), the Statesmen simply played good all-around defense to limit the visitors to just 29.3% shooting.
William Penn’s 7-3 record is the program’s best 10-game start since joining the NAIA in 2001-2002. It is also believed to be the best start since WPU was 8-2 in 1992-1993.
Both sides took a bit to get going as WPU led 13-6 after 10 minutes of action. The second period was not much different with the eventual victors going into the locker room ahead 26-19.
A 17-11 third quarter expanded the advantage, though, allowing the hosts to coast down the stretch for the victory.
WPU, which shot 39.3% overall, owned a 40-37 rebounding margin and had only 12 turnovers compared to 14 by EU.
Asia Roper (Sr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology) was a menace all over the hardwood, tallying team highs in points (16), assists, (7), and steals (5); she corralled five rebounds as well.
Alyssa Phillips (Sr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), who was recognized at halftime of the men’s game for reaching the 1,000-point mark in her career, added 15 more to that tally. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) was also in double figures with 12 points in addition to a squad-best nine rebounds.
Tyra Johnson (So., Calumet City, Ill., Undecided) contributed eight points and Kate Ylitalo (Fr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) was highly effective with seven points in just five minutes on the court.
The program’s four-game winning streak is its longest since picking up six straight in 2012-2013.
“Our players deserve a lot of credit for executing the game plan,” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “Locking down their leading scorer, containing their point guard, and not allowing their big post player to dominate is why we kept them under 60 points and were able to win. I love coaching this AWESOME team!”
Next Up: William Penn closes out its pre-holiday break slate next Saturday by traveling to Canton, Mo. to face Culver-Stockton in Heart play at 2 p.m.
