Statesmen Open Season with Record-Breaking Performance

Vashti Nwagbaraocha had 23 points on Saturday to lead the Statesmen.

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa—The William Penn women’s basketball team hosted their season opener Saturday against Association Free Lutheran Bible School.

The Statesmen (1-0) took the non-conference match-up against AFLBS (0-1) in dominating fashion 127-17.

WPU outshot their counterpart by a huge margin .585-.118, including .308 from behind the arc.

Six members of the navy and gold reached double-digit point totals headed by Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) with 23 points in 11 minutes and going 9-12 from the field, while Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) and Shamiah Oliver (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education) finished with 18 points and 14 points respectively.

Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind.) nearly missed a triple-double in her first contest as a Statesmen posting 11 points, eight assists, and nine steals. Niaja Taylor (Jr., Rockford, Ill.) also filled up the stat sheet with an all-around game with nine points, nine assists, and seven steals.

The Statesmen began the game on a 48-3 run and broke multiple all-time team records in the game. The 127 points scored broke the previous record of 119, the 110-point margin of victory broke the previous record of 97, and the team set a record for steals in a game with 37.

Next Up: The Statesmen will travel to Des Moines to partake in the Grand View Classic where they will take on Missouri Baptist on Saturday at 5 PM.