Late Rally Sinks Statesmen in League Opener

The Lady Statesmen fell to St. Ambrose on Saturday at Penn Gymnasium.

The Lady Statesmen fell to St. Ambrose on Saturday at Penn Gymnasium.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team was unable to hold on to a late lead in falling 90-82 to #21 St. Ambrose in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Saturday.

The Statesmen (7-9, 0-1 MCC) were ahead by a game-high 14 points at 67-53 with 11:22 left, but the Queen Bees (12-5, 2-0 MCC) dominated down the stretch to deny the home team the upset.

WPU, which was outshot 47.4%-41.5% in the first stanza, still managed to hold a 46-43 halftime edge. That margin grew exponentially to 14 points and the hosts still seemed in control with a ten-point lead at 73-63 with 6:11 on the clock.

Unfortunately, St. Ambrose scored nine straight points (12-1 run) to regain the lead and never trailed again. The Statesmen narrowed the deficit to four points with 27 ticks to go, but failed to get any closer.

Dani Stahle (Sr., South Weber, Utah, History/Government & Psychology) scored 12 of her team-high 19 points in the first half. She was 8-for-13 from the field and also paced WPU with five assists and three steals.

Janay Pritchett (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology & Sociology) returned from a three-game absence with a 16-point showing, while Brittany May (Sr., Gladstone, Ore., Biology) hit four three-pointers en route to 12 points. Megan Evangelista (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn., Biology) reached double figures as well with ten points.

Jessie Kreuser (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided) tallied nine points, but really made her mark on the glass with a game-best and career-high 18 rebounds. The Statesmen edged their foes 42-41 in rebounding. SAU was better from the field, however, 48.6%-43.2%.

Lauren McKinnis (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sociology) added six points in the setback.

William Penn committed just three more turnovers (15-12) than St. Ambrose, but was not as advantageous with its extra chances, being outscored 24-14 in points off turnovers.

Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Wednesday to host AIB in MCC play at 5:30 p.m.

Posted by on Jan 13 2014. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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