CLINCHED!!! William Penn Takes Title for First Time in 31 Years
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Cedar Rapids–The Statesmen women’s basketball team accomplished a feat 30 of its most recent predecessors could not as they earned a share of a league crown by defeating Mount Mercy 83-41 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.
#14 William Penn (26-2, 21-2 Heart), which tied a season high for consecutive wins with nine, will raise a conference championship banner for the first time since 1988 and seventh time in program history.
The navy and gold will now seek the outright crown and automatic berth to nationals Saturday as it hosts Benedictine at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.
Sledding was slow early on in Wednesday’s matchup as the visitors led just 11-8 after the first quarter. The Mustangs (5-24, 1-22 Heart) tallied the first two points of the second period to make it 11-10, but they would come no closer as the Statesmen fulfilled their mission. WPU torched MMU to the tune of a 24-6 advantage in the stanza to lead 35-14 at the break and never looked back.
The third quarter was even more lopsided at 29-8 and William Penn cruised to the win, getting 15 players on the floor in the contest.
William Penn dominated across the board, including a 52.6%-27.3% shooting advantage and a 53-27 clip on the boards. Ball control was the victors’ lone weakness as they committed 12 turnovers to just eight for the hosts.
Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) headlined the scorers with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting (4-for-9 3-PT). Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) joined her in double figures with 16 points. Pennington paced a skillful effort at the free-throw line by hitting all six of her attempts; the team was 14-for-16 overall.
Nine other Statesmen recorded points, led by Jenny Hugins (Sr., Pueblo, Colo., Communications) with eight points off the bench. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) tallied seven with a game-high nine rebounds, while Shamiah Oliver (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education) and Makenzie Pezley (So., Keokuk, Iowa, Elementary Education) tacked on six each.
Niaja Taylor (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Psychology and Sociology) and Cassidy Turner (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Exercise Science) both managed five points as well.
Jenna Santi (Sr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) did the brunt of the distributing with five assists, while Autumn Voigt (Jr., Clintonville, Wis., Business Management) blocked two shots and Pezley stole two passes.
“I am very proud of this team for clinching a conference championship,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “They have been determined all season and individual after individual have stepped up. This is a great accomplishment for these ladies, but they have bigger goals ahead of them.”
