Statesmen Advance to Heart of America Tournament Final
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa—The Statesmen women’s basketball team returned to action Friday night to take on the Clarke Pride in the semifinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament
#11 William Penn (29-2) was able to overcome a sluggish start on the offensive end with quality play on the defensive side of the ball to knock off Clarke (21-11) by a final score of 66-44 and punch their ticket to the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Final.
The host Statesmen shot a respectable 41% from the field but did not have its usual touch from beyond the arc, shooting just 27% from distance. They made up for it with their defensive intensity however holding the opposing Pride to just 26% from the field and 12% from three-point range.
The first quarter was a tough one for both teams and they combined to turn over the ball 11 times in the quarter with the Pride turning it over seven times. Shamiah Oliver (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education) managed to get the scoring going for the navy and gold at the 7:37 mark with a layup. From that point the offense went cold as they were only able to muster eight points in the quarter. Fortunately, Clarke had even bigger struggles on offense as they were unable to even get on the board until the 3:23 mark and were held scoreless for the remainder of the period.
A couple of milestones were garnered in the second quarter. At the 4:32 mark, Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) was fouled and went to the free-throw line for a William Penn record 709th time in her career. Then with 2:29 left before halftime, Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) drove hard and got a layup to fall to accumulate her 1,000th point of her career. Both ladies were instrumental in getting the Statesmen going offensively in the period and at the halftime led Clarke 25-15.
William Penn is a dangerous team coming out of the locker room, let alone with a 10-point lead. The ladies were able to put the game out of reach in the third. Sham Troupe (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Software Engineering) came off the bench and provided a spark with a couple of hustle plays and a big put-back layup to give her team an 18 point lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Statesmen continued to add on in the fourth, pushing the lead to as many as 28 points and ultimately took the semifinal matchup with little trouble, winning by 22 to claim their 29th win of the season.
The Heart Player of the Year Nwagbaraocha led all scorers with 28 points and grabbed 10 boards to tally her 11th double-double of the season. Ylitalo also managed to reach double figures, pouring in 11 points while Jenna Santi (Sr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) had a great all-around effort with nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
“Another game where we did not get off to a good start and struggled to get going on offense,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “Our defense was very good again but we need to play both ends to win on Monday. Culver is playing great and really scoring the ball. We have to get back to playing complete basketball games.”
Next up: William Penn will take on Culver-Stockton in the Heart of American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game on Monday, Mar. 4, in the Penn Gymnasium with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
