Lady Statesmen Rally Past Concordia-St. Paul in Exhibition
William Penn Women’s Athletics
St. Paul, Minn.–The navy and gold could not have cared less that Friday’s exhibition contest did not count as the William Penn women’s basketball team stormed back to defeat NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul 75-73 Friday night.
The Lady Statesmen trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half, but fought back to be behind just 34-30 at halftime.
A tight second stanza witnessed five ties and 11 lead changes. The visitors scored nine of the first 13 points to regain the advantage and led for most of the second half. The lead seesawed late, but a bucket by Janay Pritchett (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) with 50 seconds left gave William Penn the edge for good.
Pritchett, who topped William Penn with 17 points, then added two more free throws (7-of-9 overall) and Orielle Thomas connected on three of four free tries to ice the victory. Thomas notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Sarah Martin (Sr., Anthem, Ariz., Physical Education) matched Thomas with 12 points. Taylor Reed (Sr., Kalamazoo, Mich., Communication) and Sam Abens (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) also reached double figures with 11 and ten points, respectively. Martin and Abens both stole three passes, while Martin also matched Pritchett with three assists.
William Penn outrebounded the home team 44-42 and forced 21 turnovers, good for 21 Lady Statesmen points.
Next: The Lady Statesmen remain in St. Paul, Minn. Saturday to face Northern State (S.D.) in another exhibition game at 2 p.m.
