WPU Dominates Second Half in Home Opener
The Statesmen produced one of the best single halves of women’s basketball possibly ever witnessed in Penn Gymnasium as it crushed Hannibal-LaGrange 95-34 in non-conference play Tuesday.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen produced one of the best single halves of women’s basketball possibly ever witnessed in Penn Gymnasium as it crushed Hannibal-LaGrange 95-34 in non-conference play Tuesday.
William Penn (2-1) scored 32 straight points over a 10-minute section of play and outscored the Trojans 55-9 after intermission to roll in its home opener.
The hosts pulled out to a 7-2 edge early in the night, but H-LG answered with six in a row for its lone lead. The navy and gold bounced back, though, with a 10-0 run to go up 18-8 after the first quarter.
The advantage grew to 20 twice in the second period before WPU settled on a 40-25 halftime margin. While it played well in the first 20 minutes, something happened in the locker room that sparked William Penn to compete at a completely different level for the last 20 minutes.
Sarah Hansen (Sr., Neponset, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) opened the latter half with a three-pointer–one of four for her on the night–and the rout was on. Hansen paced all players with 18 points.
The visiting crew scored to cut its deficit to 22 points at 50-28 with 6:07 to go in the third period, but was then kept scoreless for over 10 minutes as the Statesmen, who shot 53.7% after halftime, scored 32 unanswered points. Hannibal-LaGrange (0-2) was limited to 9.5% shooting (2-for-21) in the third and fourth quarters.
At game’s end, WPU held a 50.0%-29.5% advantage in shooting, including a 47.1% mark behind the arc.
Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) was next on the scoring list, going 7-for-10 for 16 points. The sophomore pulled down a team-high six rebounds and also blocked two shots.
The victors also outrebounded the Trojans 48-24 (21-5 offensive), leading to a 22-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) was the third member of the double-digit club with 13 points.
Shamiah Oliver (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) topped the Statesmen bench with nine points, while Tyra Johnson (Jr., Calumet City, Ill., Undecided) tallied seven points and Dymond Randle (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) added six more. All 14 Statesmen who stepped onto the court scored in the win.
Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) and Morgan Neeley (Jr., Flint, Mich., Exercise Science) both dished out four assists, while Neeley recorded five steals as well. William Penn tallied 20 steals Tuesday as a part of 32 total takeaways (WPU had 13 turnovers). The hosts converted those mistakes into a 37-9 margin in points off turnovers.
“I am very happy with our defensive effort tonight,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “I thought our defense set the tone for the entire game, leading to easy baskets for us in transition. I am very proud of the effort and intensity the team played with.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Crete, Neb. Friday to face Doane at 8 p.m. as part of the Doane Classic.
