Cold Shooting Results in First Loss of Year for Lady Statesmen
William Penn University Athletics
Peru, Neb.–In a battle of two programs looking for the early-season spotlight, the Penn women’s basketball team fell just short of a big road win in a 78-77 non-conference loss to Peru State Thursday.
The Lady Statesmen (1-1) hit just 31.8% of their shots (27-of-85), but by limiting the Bobcats (2-0) to only 36.4% from the field (24-of-66), the visitors still had a chance in the waning seconds.
Trailing by four late, Penn notched a couple of free throws and then a bucket from Christa Subbert (Sr., Stanton, Stanton HS) before forcing Peru State’s Katie Potter to ice it at the line. Fortunately, Potter missed both attempts, giving the Lady Statesmen a chance as Sarah Martin (So., Anthem, Ariz., Boulder Creek HS) came down with the rebound.
Potter avenged her shooting woes, however, by stealing the ball right back from Martin as time ran out and the home team prevailed. Peru State entered this season unofficially 29th in NAIA Division II with 30 votes, while Penn was in the same ‘receiving votes’ category, tied for 38th with one vote.
The game was fairly even in all areas, minus a huge advantage by the hosts at the charity stripe, going 25-of-41, while Penn had just 19 attempts, connecting on 15 of those tries.
Ashton Perez (Sr., Wildomar, Calif., Riverside CC) paced her squad with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Samantha Darley (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz., Mesa HS) added 12 points (5-of-5 FT). Rachel Butler (Sr., Orange County, Calif., Cerritos CC) also reached double digits with ten (4-of-7 FG) and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
Subbert just missed the mark with nine points and four steals, while Orielle Thomas (Fr., Waynesville, Mo., Waynesville HS) tallied a half dozen in addition to a game-high 11 boards. Penn narrowly outrebounded the Bobcats, 50-48, leading to a 9-3 edge in second-chance points.
The Lady Statesmen forced Peru State into 23 turnovers, translating them into 25 navy and gold points.
“We played hard tonight, but we did some silly things that we need to fix and we will fix them,” Lady Statesmen Head Coach Brian Spielbauer said. “We have a big game coming up against Concordia (Neb.) on Saturday and hope our fans will come out to see us in action in our home opener.”
Next: Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday for its home opener against non-conference foe and #11 nationally-ranked Concordia (Neb.) at 2 p.m.
Wade Steinlage
