Statesmen Win Streak Halted by Evangel

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Springfield, Mo.–The William Penn women’s basketball team headed south riding a nine-game winning streak to take on Evangel in a Heart of America Athletic Conference clash.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen (17-2, 12-2 Heart) dropped the matchup to the Crusaders (11-7, 6-7 Heart) ending their win-streak, 73-65.

WPU was outshot by its opponent 41%-37% from the field and outshot from beyond the arc 36%-25%.

It was a tale of two halves for the navy and gold as they led for most for the first half and held as big as a 10-point lead in the first quarter. The second half was the complete opposite for the ladies as they did not lead once following a Crusader three-pointer one minute in.

Despite the loss, William Penn had three players in double-figures including getting some inspired play off the bench from Shamiah Oliver (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education) who tallied a team-high 19 points (7-12 FG) along with six rebounds. Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) was active as well, posting 17 points, four boards, and three assists. Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn. Biology) rounded out the trio with 13 points.

A big difference in the game was on the boards as WPU was outrebounded 41-35. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) led the Statesmen with nine boards.

“We got out-hustled today and out-worked all game. ” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We were slow defensively and they simply out-played us.”

Next Up: The Statesmen will return home and take on Missouri Valley on Monday, Jan. 21, in Penn Gymnasium starting at 7 PM.