Lady Statesmen Rally in Regulation, Pull Away in Overtime to Drop Ashford
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team opened up the New Year with a heart-thumping 78-69 overtime win over Ashford in non-conference play Wednesday.
The Lady Statesmen (9-6) moved three games over the .500 mark for the first time this season, but it was anything but easy.
The navy and gold dominated the early minutes, owning the biggest lead of the night at 14-3 with 10:47 left in the first half. Unfortunately, the lead quickly evaporated with Ashford (8-11) pulling to within one at 24-23 at halftime.
The squads played even for the first 13 minutes of the second stanza with neither side going up by more than two points. William Penn led 45-43 at the 7:15 mark, but nine unanswered put it behind 53-45 with 4:55 left. Both programs then scored a basket before the hosts made their move.
The Lady Statesmen scored 15 of the final 23 points of regulation, capped by late layups from Sarah Martin (Sr., Anthem, Ariz., Physical Education) and Sam Abens (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education), to tie the contest. Knotted at 60-60 with six seconds left, Abens then drew a charge on the defensive end. She nearly did it all in the final seconds, but her jumper in the lane would not drop as time expired.
The duo took over in the extra period, scoring the first six points as William Penn rolled out to a five-point advantage. The Saints narrowed it to three on their next possession, but would get no closer. The Lady Statesmen, who were just 6-of-13 at the line in regulation, iced the win by making eight straight free tries and 12-of-14 overall.
A 45.9%-34.4% shooting edge was almost not enough to lift William Penn as the home team had to overcome a 45-35 rebounding deficit. That mark resulted in a 15-7 Ashford advantage in second-chance points.
Martin guided her team with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Abens finished with 15 points (9-of-11 FT) off the bench, while Orielle Thomas (Sr., Waynesville, Mo., Physical Education) also hit double figures with 14 points. The senior tallied a team-best eight rebounds as well.
Katie Golomski (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology) added nine points, while Jessie Kreuser (So., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided) managed seven. Brittany May (Jr., Gladstone, Ore., Biology) connected on a pair of three-pointers for six points.
Abens was a force all over the hardwood, also topping the Lady Statesmen with four assists and four steals. Thomas blocked three Ashford shots.
William Penn committed just 14 mistakes (none in overtime), compared to 18 for the Saints.
“This was a good win for us with contributions from everyone,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “We never gave up and that says a lot about this team. I really believe our early-season schedule helped us get this win as we knew what to do when it got tight late.”
“Morgan Evans (Sr., Creston, Iowa, Industrial Technology) played great defense, doing things that do not show up in the box score,” Brown added. “She did a great job containing their bigger post players. Sarah and Sam made big play after big play down the stretch. Without them, tonight could have had a much different outcome.”
Next: William Penn begins Midwest Collegiate Conference play Saturday by traveling to Davenport to face St. Ambrose at 1 p.m.
