Statesmen Rally Past Mount Mercy for 63-60 Road ‘W’
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Cedar Rapids–The William Penn women’s basketball team picked up its biggest Midwest Collegiate Conference win of the year in defeating Mount Mercy 63-60 Saturday.
The Statesmen (11-15, 3-7 MCC) kept their hopes alive of hosting a first-round tournament game with a win over the Mustangs (17-10, 6-4 MCC). WPU currently trails Grand View by one game for fourth place with two games remaining.
Both sides had issues finding the bottom of the net with William Penn narrowly outshooting MMU 32.8%-32.7%. Neither team had much luck at the line either (WPU was 17-for-29, MMU was 20-for-37).
The visitors trailed by as much as seven in the first half before cutting the deficit to 31-29 at intermission. The rally continued into the second stanza with the navy and gold going on an 18-6 run to lead 47-37 at the 11:36 mark.
Mount Mercy was able to rally as well, though, getting within one point on three occasions, but WPU made just enough baskets and had enough defensive stops to avenge its 82-74 loss to the Mustangs back on January 25.
With William Penn ahead by only two in the final seconds, the hosts missed a layup with four seconds left. Jessie Kreuser (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided) was fouled after the rebound and made the first of two free throws. Mount Mercy’s game-tying three-pointer misfired as time expired.
Despite being outrebounded 53-44, William Penn held a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points. The squad also committed seven fewer turnovers (10-17) which resulted in a 15-8 edge in points off errors.
Brittany May (Sr., Gladstone, Ore., Biology) was the team’s top offensive player with 14 points, including four of WPU’s six three-pointers.
Kreuser, who made seven free throws, scored nine of her 11 points in the second period. Megan Evangelista (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn., Biology) joined her with 11 points, while Alyssa Phillips (Fr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) recorded her first career double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.
Vanessa Kieres (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Exercise Science) added eight points, and Susan Smith (Sr., Eugene, Ore., Biology) was solid in several aspects with five points, three assists, and three steals.
“This was a good team win on the road,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “Everyone was positive and contributed, and Jessie had a critical game-deciding rebound at the end. We look forward to the next challenge.”
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Viterbo in MCC action at 5:30 p.m.
