Statesmen Take Down Yellowjackets for Second Time
Oskaloosa–Bailey Reardon (So., River Falls, Wis., Elementary Education) and Brittany West (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) both produced double-doubles as the William Penn women’s basketball team finished its season sweep of Graceland with a 71-53 Heart of America Athletic Conference win Wednesday.
WPU (8-5, 8-4), which defeated the Yellowjackets (3-10, 2-8 Heart) in Lamoni last month, was outshot 46.8%-38.5%, but found other ways to come away victorious. The hosts committed nine fewer turnovers (13-22), and were extremely opportunistic by posting a 32-11 margin in points off mistakes.
The navy and gold also tallied nine more rebounds (39-30), highlighted by a 21-8 edge on the offensive glass that netted a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points. The victors attempted 18 more shots (65-47) than GU and outscored the visitors by nine at the free-throw line; William Penn was 15-for-21, while Graceland was 6-for-7.
Reardon and West scored the first five points of the night, but in a seesaw first quarter, the Yellowjackets answered with 10 straight. WPU regrouped, though, and finished the period with eight of the last 10 points for a 13-12 lead.
The Statesmen extended their advantage to five twice in the second stanza, but a 7-0 GU run gave the visitors one last lead at 25-23. Breanna Wendland (Jr., Richfield, Minn., Undecided) and Lakyla Moore (Jr., Norfolk, Neb., Business Management) responded with back-to-back buckets, however, and the home crew never trailed again.
Reardon was her squad’s top player at the midway point with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Up 32-29 at intermission, WPU turned up the heat and opened the third quarter with a 19-4 run. Headlining the barrage was seven forced turnovers and consecutive three-pointers by West. The senior was the only Statesmen with multiple trifectas, finishing 4-for-10 from behind the arc en route to a game-high 16 points.
William Penn held a 23-10 scoring edge in the third for a 55-39 lead and was not threatened down the stretch. West pulled down 10 rebounds, matching Reardon who also ended up with 15 points. Reardon blocked three shots as well.
Moore, despite a difficult night from deep (0-for-11), also produced 15 points. Like her team, the junior discovered other ways to contribute as she recorded seven steals and was 5-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Wendland put up significant numbers across the board with six points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, while Zantasia White (Lubbock, Texas, Secondary Education) was next in the scoring column with seven points.
Morgan Terry (Jr., Cornersville, Tenn., Biology) paced the bench with six points, while Madisyn Rogan (So., Stevens Point, Wis., Applied Mathematics) added five more.
Both sides found perimeter success rare; William Penn was 6-for-27 (22.2%), while Graceland was 3-for-14 (21.4%).
“We played a lot better in the second half,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We made hustle plays and scored easy baskets in transition because of our defense. We just need to figure out how to play that way for a full 40 minutes.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host #18 MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart play at 2 p.m.
