Lady Statesmen Handed First Conference Loss

William Penn Women's Athletics

Davenport–St. Ambrose remains an unsolved puzzle as the Penn women’s basketball team lost 61-50 to the #9 nationally-ranked Queen Bees in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Sunday.

In a game that was rescheduled from December 11, the Lady Statesmen (10-6, 2-1 MCC) fell for the 11th straight time in the series.  Their last win was a 56-50 decision on February 1, 2006.

The contest was one of the closest in recent history, however, as the visitors, paced by 17 points from Christa Subbert (Sr., Stanton, Stanton HS), led for most of the first stanza, including holding a 28-24 edge at the break.  Subbert was less than effective from the field (4-of-17), but hit all eight of her free throws to tie for the game lead in points.  Penn was a productive 14-of-16 at the stripe overall.

Both teams hit less than 30.0% of their shots prior to halftime, but the Queen Bees (12-2, 2-0 MCC) warmed up a bit following intermission and controlled the second half.

St. Ambrose took the lead for good at 42-39 with 11:39 remaining.  Penn remained within single digits until the waning minutes, but unfortunately never really posed a threat down the stretch.

The Lady Statesmen, who were outshot 32.7%-27.0%, held a 44-42 advantage on the glass, resulting in a 19-14 edge in second-chance points.  Both programs committed 22 turnovers with Penn scoring 20 points off its opponent’s mistakes.

It was a two-woman show for the visitors with Sarah Martin (So., Anthem, Ariz., Boulder Creek HS) joining Subbert in double figures with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Orielle Thomas (Fr., Waynesville, Mo., Waynesville HS) added seven in the loss, while Rachel Butler (Sr., Orange County, Calif., Cerritos CC) had just three points, but was strong in other areas, posting team bests in rebounds (9) and steals (3).

Next: Penn returns to Oskaloosa Wednesday to host #12 Iowa Wesleyan in MCC action at 5:30 p.m.

Wade Steinlage