Statesmen Survive Upset Bid by Peru State, 63-53
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team recovered from a poor first half to rally past Peru State 63-53 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Wednesday.
The Statesmen (13-6, 11-4 Heart) notched their third-straight win by outshooting the Bobcats 45.8%-30.0%. With Benedictine’s win over Central Methodist, the navy and gold are now just one-half game (in the win column) behind CMU for third place in the league.
As it sometimes occurs after a big win, such as last Saturday’s road upset of #13 Central Methodist, WPU suffered a bit of a letdown early on Wednesday. The hosts scored the first two points, but then struggled in all aspects to fall behind 18-9.
William Penn was able to trim the deficit to 18-13 after one quarter. The squad then produced a mini run to lead momentarily in the second period before witnessing Peru State (4-15, 2-14 Heart) close on a 10-3 run to go up 32-27 at halftime.
WPU worked up a good game plan in the locker room and executed it to perfection for a bit as a 13-0 run took it from down 36-31 to up 44-36. Unfortunately, the Bobcats responded and led 47-46 entering the final period.
It appeared a barnburner was on the horizon, but the Statesmen removed all doubt of a victory in the waning minutes. Up only three at 54-51 with 5:38 remaining, William Penn outscored PSC 9-1 at game’s end to avoid the upset.
The Statesmen overcame a 45-37 rebounding disadvantage (outscored 12-3 in second-chance points) with a solid 22-12 margin in points off turnovers. Both crews mismanaged the ball at times (WPU had 21 turnovers, PSC had 23).
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) guided the victors with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting; she missed just once inside the three-point arc.
Helena Rodriguez (Sr., Zion, Ill., Sociology), with 12 points and four assists, and Alyssa Phillips (Sr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), with 11 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks, each posted strong all-around performances as well.
Brynesha Mosby (So., Belleville, Ill., Biology) added seven points, while Kate Ylitalo (Fr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) came up with five points and two steals. Asia Roper (Sr., Aurora, Colo., Psychology) and Sarah Hansen (Jr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) came in banged up and were not expected to see action, but both gutted it out to add, if anything, leadership for the navy and gold.
“Tonight was a very important win for us,” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “It would have been terrible to go to Central Methodist and defeat them and then lose on our own court. Fortunately, our bench gave us a huge boost and we found a way. Hopefully Asia and Sarah will be healthy for Saturday’s game as we missed both of them being at full strength tonight. Asia showed a lot of character by getting dressed at halftime to help out.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host #10 Baker in Heart action at 12 p.m.
