Poor Fourth Quarter Sinks Statesmen Against Missouri Valley
The William Penn women’s basketball team played great defense once again, but it was not enough to make up for another cold shooting effort in a 62-51 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Missouri Valley Wednesday.
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team played great defense once again, but it was not enough to make up for another cold shooting effort in a 62-51 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Missouri Valley Wednesday.
The Statesmen (9-11, 6-7 Heart) were strong inside the arc (22-for-40), but struggled mightily from the perimeter (1-for-28) and at the line (4-for-16). The Statesmen were eventually outshot 40.5%-33.8% in the setback.
The night started with both programs laboring to get the ball in the basket as MVC (9-8, 7-6 Heart) led 7-6 after 10 minutes of action. The Vikings were again one point better in the second period to lead 26-24 at halftime.
WPU was again frigid in the early parts of the third stanza, falling behind by eight at 34-26. The hosts finally put things together, though, going on a 13-4 run to hold a 39-38 edge entering the final quarter.
Despite only scoring two points in the first five-plus minutes of the fourth period, the Statesmen were still in the game down 42-41. The remainder of the contest unfortunately belonged to the visitors as they doubled up William Penn 24-12 in the last 10 minutes.
The Statesmen were tenacious on defense, forcing their opponents into 21 turnovers highlighted by 13 steals; they converted those mistakes into a 19-7 margin in points off turnovers.
William Penn also snatched 20 offensive rebounds, but was outrebounded 41-39 overall. The navy and gold failed to take advantage of all those extra possessions (68-42 in total shots), however, as MVC owned an 11-8 mark in second-chance points.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) and Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) both shot the ball well, going a combined 10-for-13 from the field. Nwagbaraocha had 12 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals, while Phillips finished with 10 points and two blocks.
Asia Roper (Jr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology), who stole five passes and assisted three times, scored six points as did Briana McRae (Jr., Racine, Wis., Undecided) and Sabrina Avery (Fr., Riverside, Calif., Psychology and Sociology).
“We did some things well, including our offensive rebounds and our steals,” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “Unfortunately, we cannot shoot that poorly from deep and from the line and foul 30 times. Our ladies did play hard, and for that, I am very proud.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Peru, Neb. Saturday to face Peru State in Heart action at 2 p.m.
