Big Second Half Leads Statesmen to Victory Over Missouri Baptist
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Des Moines–William Penn hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to familiar Des Moines but not to take on their conference foe. Rather, the team played in game one of a two game set at the Grand View Classic that will take place on Friday and Saturday.
The Statesmen (2-0) seemed to push all the right buttons, outplaying Missouri Baptist (1-1) on both sides of the ball in route to a 88-37 victory.
The navy and gold opened the game with 10-4 run sparked by Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) who posted an early eight points out of the gate. Despite turning over the ball 10 times in the quarter, the Statesmen headed into the second with a 16-10 lead.
The second looked much like the first for WPU, controlling the tempo of the game and increasing the lead to 12 as the teams went to the half.
The third quarter, was when the Statesmen really started to click though. The team got red-hot from the field lead by eight points in the quarter coming from Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology). The team ended on a 14-2 run to increase the lead to 59-32.
From there, the William Penn cruised and took over the game. The Statesmen outscored Missouri Baptist 30-5 in the fourth quarter to close the deal.
WPU outshot Missouri Baptist by a wide margin, .544-.240 including shooting 40% from three-point distance. The team also continued to force turnovers, totaling 16 steals which lead to easy points on the other end.
The navy and gold nearly doubled up Missouri Baptist on the boards, edging the Spartans 50-23 in that category.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee Wis., Exercise Science) had a great all-around game posting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while also producing two steals and two blocks.
Pennington finished as the team’s leading scorer with 19 points while also showcasing her all-around talent with seven boards and five assists. After her strong start, Ylitalo also managed to finish in double-digits with 12 points while shooting 50% (2-4) from beyond the arc and swiping three steals which tied her for the team high.
Shamiah Oliver (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education) did a nice job providing some offense off the bench tallying eight points while grabbing five boards in 12 minutes of play. Autumn Voigt (Jr., Clintonville, Wis.) showcased a little bit of everything in her skill set producing six points, three steals, and two boards in five minutes off the bench.
Through two games so far this season, the ladies have outscored their opponents 215-55 and swiped 53 steals.
Next Up: The Statesmen will remain in Des Moines where they will take on a big test in #20 Lyon on Saturday with the action beginning at 11 am.
