Statesmen Falter in Final Quarter in Loss to Pioneers
William Penn failed to top MidAmerica Nazarene
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team needed a win Wednesday to stay among the best squads in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, but it failed to come out on top in a 66-61 loss to MidAmerica Nazarene.
WPU (14-10, 12-8 Heart) was looking to get back into a tie with the Pioneers (15-8, 14-6 Heart) for fourth place, but instead drops into a tie for fifth with Clarke. The Statesmen are far from in trouble, though, as they can make up ground with five of their last six contests coming against teams tied with or below them in the standings.
The hosts hit only 25.8% of their shots in the first half, but trailed by just three points at intermission, 31-28. At that point, the game had featured seven ties and five lead changes, and little changed in the third period. William Penn opened the quarter with the first seven points and kept the advantage at 45-44 going into the final 10 minutes of action.
Unfortunately, MNU went on a mini 7-2 run to begin the fourth and never relinquished the lead again. The navy and gold, led by 13 points from Kate Ylitalo (Fr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology), narrowed the deficit to one possession several times, but could not get all the way back.
For the game, WPU was outshot 44.6%-34.9% and outrebounded 41-35, but had three more offensive boards (13-10) and forced the Pioneers into five more turnovers (19-14). The Statesmen topped the visitors 14-10 in points off turnovers and bettered them 8-4 in second-chance points.
Sarah Hansen (Jr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) and JeAnn Hiraldo (Jr., Frisco, Texas, Industrial Technology) both finished with 11 points, while Jessica Warren (Sr., Park Forest, Ill., Physical Education) was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Alyssa Phillips (Sr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) added seven points, along with nine rebounds and two blocks, while Asia Roper (Sr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology) managed seven assists and three steals.
Despite his program falling for the fourth time in its last five games, Head Coach Willie Scott believes his team is right on track to make a memorable run in the upcoming weeks.
“I am very excited about this team,” Scott said. “We got better as the game wore on and played with poise and made fewer turnovers towards the end of the game.”
“Although we lost, I believe we are coming together at the right time,” Scott added. “February is the perfect time to peak and I can see us doing just that. Do not count this team out just yet!”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Culver-Stockton in Heart play at 2 p.m.
