Second Half Gets Away from WPU in 93-82 Setback

William Penn Women’s Athletics

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team could not keep pace with Clarke after halftime in a 93-82 Midwest Collegiate Conference loss Wednesday.

Despite the loss, William Penn (9-13, 2-4 MCC) will begin the second part of league play just two games out of second place.

The hosts led 8-5 early, but the Crusaders (13-10, 4-2 MCC) erupted for a 30-7 run to go up 35-15 just past the midway point of the opening period. WPU finally regained traction and went on its own massive 21-1 run to knot the contest at 36. The Statesmen eventually led 46-44 at intermission.

Still ahead 52-50 in the first few minutes of the second half, William Penn unfortunately permitted ten unanswered by CU and never led again. The squad narrowed the deficit to five points, but failed to get any closer as it was outshot 52.4%-40.3%.

WPU was outrebounded 45-41 and outscored 23-14 in second-chance points, but stayed close with 27 points off of 14 Crusader turnovers.

Alyssa Phillips (So., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) had a huge effort, tallying a career-high 28 points. She also pulled down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Janay Pritchett (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) also recorded 21 points in addition to four assists and two steals. Vanessa Kieres (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Exercise Science) got to double digits as well with ten points, while Brynesha Mosby (Fr., Belleville, Ill., Biology) had eight and Katie Golomski (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology & Sociology) added six. Golomski, who also blocked a pair of shots, was 4-for-4 at the line, while the team finished 16-for-21 overall.

Next Up: William Penn travels to La Crosse, Wis. Saturday to face Viterbo in MCC action at 1 p.m.