Deep Balls by Hansen, Ylitalo Carry Statesmen Past Missouri Valley
Sarah Hansen scored a career high 33 points and went 10-17 from the field.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–With its top scorer having an off night, the William Penn women’s basketball team found points in other ways as it knocked off Missouri Valley 67-53 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.
The win by WPU (14-5, 8-2 Heart), coupled by Benedictine’s loss to Central Methodist, puts the navy and gold in a five-way tie for first in the entire league. The program also remains three full games ahead of Clarke and Grand View for first in the Heart’s North Division.
The hosts were not electric from the field overall at just 40.0%, but slowed down the Vikings (11-7, 5-5 Heart) plenty on the other end as MVC hit only 33.3% of its tries. Where the Statesmen were strong, though, was behind the arc as they finished at 50.0% (11-for-22), making over half of their total shots from deep.
Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) was the first-half star as she made four trifectas en route to 12 points before break. She scored five quick points out of the gate as WPU pulled out to a 12-3 advantage. Unfortunately, the visitors rallied and tied the game at 13-13 after one quarter of play.
Missouri Valley claimed its first and only leads of the game in the opening seconds of the second period, but Ylitalo, who ended the win with 15 points, answered with a pair of long balls and William Penn never trailed again.
The Statesmen, who committed 21 turnovers (12 for MVC), led 29-23 at intermission and pushed the edge to double digits at 44-34 with 1:29 left in the third quarter. The Vikings still had plenty of life, however, and got back to within striking distance at 47-40 with 10 minutes left to go.
The margin was eight with 6:11 to go, but WPU would not be denied a return to the top of the Heart standings, scoring seven straight and cruising the rest of the way.
Sarah Hansen (Sr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) did a little bit of everything in the second half, highlighted by making five of her seven three-pointers after halftime. The senior was 10-for-17 overall (7-for-12 3-PT) for a career-high 33 points, including a 6-for-8 effort at the line.
In addition to its strong perimeter game, the victors also dominated the glass by nearing doubling up the visiting crew 53-27, including an 11-4 mark on offense. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) was limited to just eight points, but she topped all players with 12 rebounds. JeAnn Hiraldo (Sr., Frisco, Texas, Industrial Technology) quietly added 10 rebounds (all on defense) off the bench, while Ylitalo nearly missed a double-double with nine rebounds of her own.
Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) dished out six assists, while Sham Troupe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) posted five points. Nwagbaraocha and Hansen recorded two steals each Wednesday.
WPU was just 61.5% at the charity stripe, but actually still outscored MVC 16-6 in free throws as the Vikings were much worse at 46.2% overall.
“This was a very sloppy game,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We did not play with urgency on offense and that is why we struggled scoring. Fortunately, Kate and Sarah knocked down some big shots for us, but we need to play smarter on offense.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Kansas City, Mo. Saturday to face Avila in Heart action at 2 p.m.
