William Penn Drops Top-25 Matchup

Olathe, Kan.–The Statesmen women’s basketball team was unable to overcome rough performances from its two top returning players as it fell 68-48 to #14 MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Wednesday.

#25 WPU (3-2, 1-1 Heart) received just two combined points from returning all-Heart performers Kate Ylitalo (Sr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) and Brenda Pennington (Sr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) and shot 30.0% from the floor, while allowing the Pioneers (2-0, 1-0 Heart) to hit 44.1% of their shots.

WPU claimed its lone lead of the game at 8-7, but then permitted six unanswered. Another 7-0 run by MNU witnessed the navy and gold trail 20-10 after the first quarter and they never recovered.

The lone bright spot for the team came at the free-throw line as William Penn outscored MidAmerica Nazarene 15-6. The Statesmen were unfortunately outrebounded 37-36 and committed four more turnovers (19-15) than their host.

Brittany West (Jr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) was the only cager to reach double figures as she tallied 10 points. The junior was able to complete a double-double by also pulling down a team-best 11 rebounds.

Nyachristmas Puok (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Biology) had a solid offensive outing, recording eight points off the bench, while fellow post players Autumn Voigt (Sr., Clintonville, Wis., Business Management) and Bailey Reardon (Fr., River Falls, Wis., Elementary Education) both contributed seven points. Reardon was 5-for-6 at the charity stripe, while Voigt guided the defense with two steals.

Haley Mullinnix (Jr., West Branch, Iowa, Sports Management) added five points Wednesday.

Pennington was limited to two points on 1-for-9 shooting; she did dish out a squad-best four assists in the setback.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Marshall, Mo. Saturday to face Missouri Valley in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.