Statesmen Fall Short of Upset at CMU
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Fayette, Mo.–The William Penn women’s basketball team entered Saturday with an opportunity to check off a lot of goals, but was unfortunately denied in those pursuits in a 91-82 loss to #16 Central Methodist in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
With a win, WPU (21-7, 15-4 Heart) could have claimed a share of the regular season crown and also secured the conference’s automatic bid to nationals, but will now need to get some work done in next week’s league tournament to extend its season to Billings, Mont.
The navy and gold, who had already locked up the North Division title last Saturday, will receive a bye for the opening round of the Heart Tournament. As the #2 overall seed, the Statesmen will host the seventh-highest remaining seed in the quarterfinals next Thursday at 7 p.m.; the play-in round is Tuesday and after the completion of those games, the eight remaining teams will be re-seeded according to their overall Heart record.
CMU (23-7, 17-2 Heart) won its 11th-straight game by outshooting WPU 53.7%-43.9%. The visitors kept the game close in other ways, including posting a 34-30 rebounding edge (16-7 offensive). That margin helped William Penn score 17 second-chance points, compared to only three for the Eagles.
The squads exchanged buckets in the opening seconds, but then Central Methodist went on a 10-1 run and never trailed again. A high-scoring first quarter ended with the hosts leading 27-20. The advantage grew to 41-28 before the Statesmen closed the half on a 14-4 run to narrow the deficit to three at 45-42.
WPU continued to pester the Eagles throughout the first part of the third quarter, trailing just 54-52 with 6:01 to go. Unfortunately, CMU rattled off 12 in a row and was again in the driver’s seat with a 71-57 edge entering the final stanza.
Despite being down 16 points early in the fourth, William Penn did not flinch and recorded runs of 7-0 and 9-2 to get within five (83-78) with 2:42 still remaining. The Eagles were too much down the stretch, however, and claimed the outright title with help from 12 three-pointers (50.0%). Conversely, the navy and gold struggled from deep at 20.0%.
Both sides committed 15 turnovers, but Central Methodist was better at taking advantage with a 21-12 edge in points off mistakes. In addition to its rebounding prowess, WPU kept its foe within striking distance by being nearly perfect at the line (21-for-24, 87.5%). The Eagles unfortunately were also terrific with an 84.0% clip (21-for-25).
Four Statesmen surpassed double figures with Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) blazing the trail with 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting; she hit from everywhere as she was also 5-for-6 at the line and 1-for-1 from behind the arc.
Sham Troupe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) was next with 13 points alongside a team-high six rebounds, while Sarah Hansen (Sr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology) finished with 12 points and JeAnn Hiraldo (Sr., Frisco, Texas, Industrial Technology) had 10.
Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) was a factor all over the court with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) added eight points as well.
“We lost to a great Central Methodist team today,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “I thought we played well at times, but we were not disciplined. We now have to refocus and get back to playing smart, disciplined basketball for the tournament.”
