William Penn Loses First Game Since November
Canton, Mo.–A big third quarter by its foe snapped a lengthy winning streak as the Statesmen women’s basketball team fell 79-72 to Culver-Stockton in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Wednesday.
WPU (10-4, 6-3 Heart) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end in a rematch of last year’s Heart Tournament Final in which the navy and gold won 67-57. The visitors were in position to claim yet another tough battle against the Wildcats (9-7, 5-5 Heart), but a 14-0 run in the third stanza spurred the hosts to the triumph.
William Penn trailed 8-4 early in the evening, but scored seven straight and then constructed another 6-0 run to eventually hold a 19-11 advantage after 10 minutes of action.
In a game of runs, C-SC rallied with the first eight points of the second period, and in fact recaptured the edge at 25-23 before the Statesmen responded and took a 34-28 margin into the locker room.
The Statesmen continued to cling to a small advantage at 44-42 midway through the third quarter, but the Wildcats found a groove and rolled to 14 in a row and a game-high 12-point edge. Culver-Stockton outscored William Penn 28-13 in the third period.
WPU, which was outshot 43.3%-36.8% and outrebounded 41-36, did not fold, but rather pulled to within one possession (as close as two points) on several occasions. The deficit was three at 71-68 with 1:40 on the clock, but Culver-Stockton unfortunately made a few more plays on both ends and cruised to the victory.
The visiting crew found most of its success from behind the arc, going 14-for-35 for a 40.0% clip. Non-starters Makenzie Pezley (Sr., Keokuk, Iowa, Elementary Education) and Brittany West (Jr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) both connected on five trifectas, including Pezley being extremely effective as she attempted only six total shots as part of her 17-point effort. West guided the Statesmen with 18 points and also corralled a squad-best eight rebounds.
Brenda Pennington (Sr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists, while Kate Ylitalo (Sr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) matched her with 11 points as well. Bailey Reardon (Fr., River Falls, Wis., Elementary Education) just missed the double-digit mark with nine points off the bench; WPU’s bench outscored the C-SC bench 44-22.
The navy and gold were on the bottom side of the ball control game, committing four more turnovers (20-16) than the Wildcats, but were hurt the most at the charity stripe. William Penn struggled (8-for-16), while Culver-Stockton excelled in several more opportunities (19-for-23).
Autumn Voigt (Sr., Clintonville, Wis., Business Management) headlined the defensive effort with three steals and two blocks.
“You will not win many games when you turn the ball over 20 times,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We did not show up ready to play and did not attack their zone like we talked about. It is very frustrating, considering how well we played last weekend. It just shows you have to bring the effort and determination every game to compete in this league.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to host Peru State in Heart action at 2 p.m.
