Quartet of Scorers Leads WPU to 16th Victory
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Atchison, Kan.–William Penn women’s basketball returned to action on the road against a red-hot Benedictine College Ravens team that has claimed victory in its last six games.
The Statesmen (16-1, 11-1 Heart) held off a good offensive showing from the Ravens (11-7, 6-6 Heart) to claim its eighth consecutive victory, 75-64.
The navy and gold outshot their counterpart by a slim margin 54%-52% and were actually outshot from beyond the arc by the Ravens 47%-42%.
The game was a tightly contested affair through the first half with both teams trading barbs. There was a total of five ties in the first half. The second half was much of the same, but William Penn was able to create some separation at the free-throw line. The ladies shot an impressive 88% (15-17) from the charity stripe while the Ravens struggled just to get to the line only attempting seven shots.
Four player reached double-double scoring totals led by Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) who scored a season-high 31 points. She also grabbed nine boards and on the defensive end forced four steals. Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn. Biology) scored 13 points while going 3-7 from deep. Jenna Santi (Sr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) scratched for 12 points and Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) rounded out the scorers while having herself a nice all-around game posting 10 points and four assists while logging four steals.
WPU won a close battle on the boards, edging the Ravens 25-21 in the category and forced 15 turnovers while committing 12.
“I am extremely happy with the effort and determination we played with tonight,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We had four players in double figures and did a great job playing as a team. This was a great road win against a very good team.”
Next Up: William Penn will return home to take on Culver-Stockton in the Penn Gymnasium on Wednesday, beginning at 5:30 PM.
