Statesmen Rally Falls Short in Season Opener
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Orange City–The William Penn women’s basketball team overcame a horrid start to make a game of it, but in the end, came up a bit shy of an upset in a 70-60 loss to Northwestern in non-conference action Tuesday.
WPU (0-1) trailed 28-6 after the first 10 minutes, but outscored the Red Raiders (1-0) 54-42 over the last 30 minutes, including a 26-17 edge in the final stanza.
The navy and gold exchanged buckets to open the night against the #18 team in NAIA Division II, but the hosts tallied the next 14 points as part of disastrous opening period for the visitors.
William Penn improved greatly in the second quarter, but was still down 40-21 at halftime.
The third period played out much like the second as the Statesmen tied the Red Raiders 13-13, entering the last 10 minutes behind 53-34.
WPU finally got the offense going in the final stanza, scoring the first nine points to get within 10 at 53-43 with 7:40 still left in regulation. Unfortunately, Northwestern answered right back with eight unanswered points, but the navy and gold used one last 11-0 run to get within six at 65-59 with 70 seconds remaining.
The visitors failed to get any closer, though, but showed great character by not folding after falling behind big early. The team, which made just 33.3% of its attempts at intermission, turned it around and eventually was only outshot 41.1%-39.6%.
Ball control also doomed the navy and gold. They committed nine first-quarter turnovers (13 before intermission), but calmed down and ended up with 21 mistakes, while Northwestern turned the ball over 14 times.
Sarah Hansen (Sr., Neponset, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) missed her first six shots and only had three points at the half, but epitomized WPU’s resiliency as she warmed up following halftime and finished 7-for-17 for 22 points. The senior was 5-for-13 from behind the arc.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) joined Hansen in double figures with 14 points in addition to eight rebounds.
Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) added seven points, while Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) contributed six points in addition to seven assists and six rebounds for a well-rounded outing.
JeAnn Hiraldo (Sr., Frisco, Texas, Industrial Technology) tallied just two points, but guided her crew with 10 rebounds; WPU held a 37-34 edge on the glass. Hiraldo blocked two shots as well.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Dubuque Saturday to face Emmaus Bible in non-conference action at 2 p.m.
