William Penn Upsets CMU to Complete Season Sweep
William Penn University Athletics
Fayette, Mo.–The Statesmen women’s basketball team nearly collapsed in the second half, but recovered late to upset #13 Central Methodist 72-67 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.
#4 WPU (12-6, 10-4 Heart), who also defeated the Eagles (16-3, 12-3 Heart) at home back in November, finished off the season sweep and tightened up the league race. The Statesmen continue to trail Benedictine by 2.5 games, but are now tied with MidAmerica Nazarene for fourth place at 10-4. They are also now three games ahead of fifth place.
The visitors dominated the first quarter, highlighted by tallying the first nine points of the contest. William Penn did not lay off the gas as it pushed out to a 24-6 advantage after 10 minutes.
The navy and gold remained in control through the second period, holding a 38-25 edge entering intermission.
CMU began to catch fire in the third and trimmed the margin to seven at 52-45 after three quarters, and finished off the rally with eight unanswered to grab its first lead at 55-54. The home team’s lead grew to three at 59-56 at the 5:42 mark, but the Statesmen regained their composure and the lead for good with an 8-1 run.
The Eagles pulled to within two on three more occasions, but WPU fought off each push to claim victory. The hosts had it down to two at 69-67 in the final minute, but Keshunda Williams (Fr., Chicago, Ill., Business Management) put the game on ice with a three-pointer with just 12 seconds left.
William Penn narrowly outshot CMU 37.5%-37.3% and was in control of the boards at 46-32, which led to an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.
The Statesmen could have made life much easier on themselves, but struggled to put CMU away by going just 16-for-31 at the charity stripe. WPU did gain a big advantage from deep, however, by going 8-for-20 while limiting Central Methodist to a 4-for-21 effort.
Both sides struggled with ball control; William Penn had 28 turnovers and Central Methodist had 29.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The sophomore also stole four passes Saturday.
Brynesha Mosby (So., Belleville, Ill., Biology), with 13 points (four steals as well) and Alyssa Phillips (Sr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), with 11 points (also nine rebounds and three blocks), also reached double figures.
Williams and ShaVonn Watkins (Sr., Peoria, Ill., Physical Education) both finished with eight points, while Jessica Warren (Sr., Park Forest, Ill., Physical Education) was highly efficient with six points and five rebounds in only seven minutes of play.
GeLina Webb (Sr., Crete, Ill., Software Engineering) added five points and Asia Roper (Sr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology) dished out four assists.
“We jumped out on them early, but as it normally goes, early runs do not hold, especially if you are missing free throws,” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “We did a great job of defending the three-point line where they are most dangerous. After giving up a big lead, we continued to battle and refused to give away this huge road win.”
“I am so proud of this team because we do not have superstars or big Division I transfers,” Scott added. “They are just a group of hard-working young ladies who have bought in and are willing to fight to the end.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Peru State in Heart action at 5:30 p.m.
