Incredible Second Half Leads William Penn to Upset
Sisters Vashti Nwagbaraocha for William Penn (33) and Vivevca Nwagbaraocha for LB (11) battled each other for the win.
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team desperately needed and wanted to close out its pre-holiday break schedule on a positive note, and thanks to its best 20 minutes of the season, it did just that in defeating #23 Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 81-68 in non-conference play Monday.
Although the William Penn student body had already departed for break and Penn Gymnasium was fairly empty, the feel inside the facility was that of a postseason contest from the opening tip.
William Penn (8-4), unofficially 33rd in the NAIA and coming off a disappointing loss to Culver-Stockton, was a bit shaky early on, especially on defense as it fell behind 23-17 after the first quarter.
The hosts narrowed the deficit to three a few times in the second period, but unfortunately the final four minutes belonged to the Lynx (7-3) who led 44-29 at intermission.
The coaching staff reenergized the players in the locker room, and after the sides exchanged points early on in the third, the navy and gold went on a 14-4 run to draw within two points.
L-B momentarily weathered the storm, but the Statesmen were nowhere close to running out of gas, closing the quarter on a 7-0 run. For the quarter, WPU owned a 29-11 edge and was ahead 58-55 entering the fourth frame.
One final mega run, and that is not an exaggeration, was produced in the beginning moments of the fourth quarter as William Penn grew the advantage from one to 15 on a 14-0 run. When the dust settled, the Statesmen outscored the Lynx 52-24 in the latter two periods.
After being outshot 51.6%-33.3% in the opening half, WPU owned a 57.1%-24.1% shooting edge in the latter half to finish with a 45.1%-38.3% ending margin. Defense played a huge part in the victory as well. The victors forced 22 turnovers (had 16 themselves), including 12 takeaways after halftime that led to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers (21-9 for the game).
Four individuals reached double figures, but no one had a bigger and more emotion-driven performance than Vashti Nwagbaraocha (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) who was playing opposite of her older sister Vivevca. The younger sister fortunately had the better evening, scoring a game-high 22 points in addition to nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Tyra Johnson (So., Calumet City, Ill., Undecided) and Jessica Warren (Sr., Park Forest, Ill., Physical Education) both finished with 17 points–a career high for both. Johnson was 7-for-12 from the field and scored 15 of her points after halftime.
Alyssa Phillips (Sr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) also improved greatly as the night wore on, managing 11 of her 13 points after halftime. Asia Roper (Sr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology) distributed the ball well with eight assists, while Sarah Hansen (Jr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) added five points Monday.
The navy and gold, who recorded their second win over a ranked opponent this year, shot 41.7% from the perimeter and 70.6% from the line.
“This team is absolutely amazing!” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “The last few days have been very challenging, fighting through adversity with games and finals all at once. At halftime, I asked our players to put everything on hold for one half of basketball and play like it was their last game.”
“I mixed up the lineup at halftime and changed our defense,” Scott added. “I told our ladies we needed someone, anyone, to step up. Jessica showed up first, then Tyra, and Vashti certainly was not going to let her sister out-play her. Asia led the way from the point. Everyone came together and pulled off an unbelievable performance in the second half. What a great Christmas present for the ladies!”
Next Up: William Penn is off until 2017, returning to action on Wednesday, January 4 by traveling to Olathe, Kan. to face #3 MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart action at 5:30 p.m.
