William Penn Drills AIB 94-68
Sarah Martin was 6-of-7 from the field for 16 points in addition to five assists
Oskaloosa–The Lady Statesmen basketball team rebounded from one of its most disappointing losses of the season to post one of its most dominant victories in beating AIB 94-68 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday.
William Penn (16-8, 7-2 MCC) shot 54.8% from the field and held a +28 margin in rebounding to get back in the winning track.
The squads exchanged buckets in the early minutes before the hosts took the lead for good at 9-8 on a layup by Orielle Thomas (Sr., Waynesville, Mo., Physical Education). The senior led all participants with 21 points.
The navy and gold went up by as much as 14 before the Eagles (5-19, 3-7 MCC) tallied nine unanswered to close the gap to five (41-36) at the break.
The advantage was only six points 54 seconds into the second half, but the Lady Statesmen pulled away with an 8-0 run and never looked back. The lead grew to as much as 28 after intermission as William Penn shot 54.8% in the final 20 minutes. AIB was fair from the field as well at 45.1%, but was outrebounded 46-18, including a 16-4 edge on the offensive end. Thomas had six of those offensive caroms en route to a game-best 15 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the year.
Both sides struggled to possess the ball, combining for 40 turnovers (21 for WPU), but the Lady Statesmen were a bit more opportunistic with 29 points off of AIB mistakes.
A total of 43 fouls were whistled, and again the hosts took advantage, finishing 27-of-32 at the free-throw line.
All five William Penn starters reached double figures, including Sarah Martin (Sr., Anthem, Ariz., Physical Education) and Janay Pritchett (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) finishing with 16 points and Katie Golomski (So., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology) and Megan Evangelista (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn., Biology) managing 11 points each.
Jessie Kreuser (So., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided) topped the bench contributions with eight points.
Martin tallied five assists and Evangelista had three steals.
“This was a really good effort for us, especially in the second half,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “Orielle and Janay were tough matchups for them, while Sarah had a tremendous floor game. We did a great job on the glass, but we still have room for growth. Hopefully we can take this momentum into a big Senior Day game on Saturday.”
Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Mount Mercy in MCC action at 1 p.m.
