William Penn Athletics News February 19
The Lady Statesmen enjoy a moment of rest during play with Ashford on February 19, 2011
Penn Women Win Big on Senior Day, 77-45
Oskaloosa–It took a while for the team to find its legs Saturday, but once the Lady Statesmen got going there was no stopping them in a 77-45 win over Ashford on Senior Day in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.
The Lady Statesmen (21-9, 12-4 MCC) end the regular season in a tie for second place, but with tiebreakers, Penn will be the #3 seed in the MCC Tournament. It will be the program’s first home game in the postseason tournament since joining the MCC in 2001-2002.
Penn opens the tourney Thursday by hosting #6 seed Clarke in Oskaloosa at 7 p.m. The Lady Statesmen swept the Crusaders in their two regular-season meetings, 78-45 at home on January 15 and 80-63 in Dubuque on February 12.
The other part of Penn’s bracket sees #2 Mount Mercy hosting #7 Viterbo in Cedar Rapids, while the opposite side has #1 St. Ambrose vs. #8 Waldorf in Davenport and #4 Iowa Wesleyan vs. #5 Grand View in Mount Pleasant.
The Lady Statesmen struggled from the field on just 38.1% shooting, but stifled the Saints (4-26, 1-15 MCC) to 29.1%, including only 25.0% in the first half as the home team led 32-22 at the break.
Penn stayed ahead by double digits the entire second half, eventually pulling out to a 33-point edge with 5:31 remaining.
Kim Thompson (So., Park Forest, Ill., Upper Iowa) was amazing off the bench in leading all players with a season-high 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting (10-of-12 FT). She also stole a game-best three passes.
Christa Subbert (Sr., Stanton, Stanton HS) knocked down three shots from behind the arc en route to 23 points. Her tally helped her to reach second place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 2,085 points, surpassing Glenda Poock and her 2,077 points.
She now only trails Becky Inman (2,139 points) by 54 points for the record.
Orielle Thomas (Fr., Waynesville, Mo., Waynesville HS) added six points, but was much more of a presence on the boards with 15 rebounds. Penn dominated the glass 54-33 (16-6 offensive), leading to a 16-6 edge in second-chance points.
Ashford committed 17 turnovers (11 for Penn), good for 19 Lady Statesmen points, while Penn hit 24 free throws to only ten for the visitors.
William Penn's Brandon Beasley overruns Ashfords Javier Valdez during play February 19, 2011
Late Trifecta Spurns Penn Men 61-60
Dubuque–A last-second three-pointer allowed Ashford to rain on Penn’s Senior Day parade as the Statesmen fell 61-60 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Saturday.
The great finish will fortunately only burn in the minds of the Statesmen for four days as Penn (14-15, 6-10 MCC), the #6 seed in next week’s MCC Tournament, will travel to Clinton Wednesday to meet the third-seeded Saints at 7 p.m.
The Statesmen split two regular-season meetings with the Saints (20-10, 11-5 MCC), winning 71-62 in Clinton on January 22.
The other part of Penn’s bracket sees #2 Mount Mercy hosting #7 Clarke in Cedar Rapids, while the opposite side has #1 Iowa Wesleyan vs. #8 Viterbo in Mount Pleasant and #4 St. Ambrose vs. #5 Grand View in Davenport.
In a ridiculously close game, neither team led by more than six points. The Statesmen held a 30-29 advantage at intermission and as time dissolved off the clock, the squads exchanged the lead a total of 14 times and were tied on nine occasions.
The hosts actually pulled out to a four-point margin at 59-55 with only 30 seconds left on a jumper by Nick Coffey (Sr., Hinsdale, Ill., Hinsdale Central HS).
Unfortunately, the Saints answered with a three-pointer nine seconds later. A quick foul sent Blake Walker (Fr., Smyrna, Ga., Campbell HS) to the line, where he made his first attempt. His second try would not drop, however, leaving Ashford one final chance to tie or possibly win.
The Saints managed to get the ball low on a clumsy possession. A loose ball under the basket was then passed out to Marin Backo and he knocked down the eventual game-winning long bomb with only 1.5 seconds left.
Penn called a timeout to set up a ‘Hail Mary’-type play, but a lengthy pass down the court was intercepted and Ashford celebrated the victory.
The low-scoring affair witnessed only four players reaching double figures, including two by Penn. Brandon Beasley (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind., Columbus State CC) headlined his team’s scoring with 12 points, while Walker tallied ten points, including a 6-of-9 showing at the line. The Statesmen stayed in the game in a variety of ways, but most notably by holding a 16-7 edge in free throws.
Penn, normally dominant on the glass, was outrebounded 40-36. Both teams had issues shooting with the Statesmen winning the battle 38.5%-36.7%.
Ryan Wilson (Sr., Ballwin, Mo., Missouri-Kansas City) added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Coffey and Wiebe Goodyk (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa Central CC) put up seven apiece. Deon Bergeron (Sr., Lake Charles, La., Grand Lake HS) finished with six in the loss. Coffey recorded two thefts and A.J. Rogers (So., Patoka, Ind., Princeton HS) dished out four assists.
“This was a heartbreaker,” Statesmen Head Coach John Henry said. “It would have been a great story for Nick Coffey if his basket would have held up on Senior Day, but it wasn’t to be. It was a great game and a lot of fun to coach. We look forward to playing them again next Wednesday in the conference tournament.”
