Statesmen Fall 86-76 on Road
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Davenport–The William Penn women’s basketball team failed to blemish #17 St. Ambrose’s perfect Midwest Collegiate Conference record in an 86-76 loss Saturday.
The Statesmen (9-13, 2-5 MCC) could not overcome a poor perimeter effort, going just 1-for-19, including not connecting on their first and only trifecta until midway through the second stanza.
Janay Pritchett (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology & Sociology) tried to keep her squad in the contest, scoring 25 points for the third-consecutive game.
WPU pulled out to a 14-9 edge at the 12:25 mark, but the Queen Bees (18-5, 7-0 MCC) responded with a 9-3 run to lead 18-17 with 8:09 left until halftime. The hosts never trailed again, going up 37-30 at the break.
After a weak shooting first period saw SAU hold a 40.5%-31.0%, each team warmed up in the second stanza with the home team again better at 53.8%-42.1%.
The Statesmen came out of the locker room strong, narrowing the deficit to two in the first 1:19. They stayed close for the next ten minutes, eventually getting within one twice, including trailing 56-55 with 9:47 on the clock. Unfortunately, St. Ambrose scored seven in a row to pull away for good.
The final shooting tally went to SAU 46.0%-37.3%, but WPU was more successful on the glass with a 44-41 margin. A 12-9 offensive edge for the Statesmen led to a 7-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Free-throw proficiency helped the visitors remain competitive throughout. William Penn was 25-for-31 at the charity stripe for an 80.6% clip.
Dani Stahle (Sr., South Weber, Utah, History/Government & Psychology) joined Pritchett in double figures with 13 points in addition to a team-best eight rebounds. Vanessa Kieres (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Exercise Science) also tallied 13 points off the bench.
Alyssa Phillips (Fr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) managed eight points, while Jessie Kreuser (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided) contributed six. Susan Smith (Sr., Eugene, Ore., Biology) assisted on four baskets and stole three passes.
Each team committed 12 turnovers.
Next: William Penn travels to Clinton Wednesday to face Ashford at 5:30 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the year.
