William Penn Nationals Bound After Defeat of MNU

The William Penn Women's team celebrated a win that sends them back to the national tournament. They honored their friend Marquis Todd at the conclusion of the game.

The William Penn Women’s team celebrated a win that sends them back to the national tournament. They honored their friend Marquis Todd at the conclusion of the game.

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team silenced the critics for the second time in less than a month as it won 81-69 over #3 seed MidAmerica Nazarene in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals Saturday.

With its win and Central Methodist’s victory over Grand View in the other semifinal, #2 seed WPU (23-7) has secured the league’s second automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships in Billings, Mont. from March 14-20. After not making the national tournament field for 29 years in a row, the Statesmen have now qualified for two consecutive campaigns.

William Penn will fight for its first conference tournament crown ever on Tuesday when it travels to Fayette, Mo. to face top-seeded Central Methodist at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. WPU fell to CMU 91-82 last Saturday on the road.

It is the program’s third trip to the conference tourney final since joining the NAIA and its first since 2010-2011.

The hosts, who knocked off the eighth-ranked Pioneers (25-6) 55-50 on February 10 in Olathe, Kan., were playing very much in pain, still mourning the death of men’s basketball player Marquis Todd who passed away Thursday night, just hours after WPU’s quarterfinal win over Clarke.

Wearing shooting shirts with #22 TODD on the back, the Statesmen played without a doubt their best game of their season, outshooting MNU 52.7%-40.3%; both sides had 34 rebounds. William Penn also had three fewer turnovers (16-19) and converted on the other end at a much higher rate with a 22-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

The visiting team scored the game’s opening bucket, but Sarah Hansen (Sr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology) gave William Penn the lead on a three-pointer two minutes later. The senior would unfortunately be whistled for her second foul early in the game and be forced to sit for the rest of the first period. Her teammates picked up the slack, though, and a shot by Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) put the navy and gold on top for good at 7-5. It was far from smooth sailing the rest of the night, however.

The margin grew to nine at 18-9 before WPU settled on an 18-13 edge after the first quarter. The Statesmen have experienced lapses in the second quarter, but held strong and actually extended the lead to nine at 36-27 at halftime.

The Pioneers blew out of the locker room, trimming the deficit to 44-43 midway through the third stanza. Fortunately, the home team weathered the storm and went on a 12-2 run of its own.

Up 58-46 with 10 minutes remaining, the navy and gold had room for error, but actually played quite well down the stretch. Their only struggle came in the middle of the quarter, when ahead 66-53, MNU reeled off seven straight to get within four with 4:02 still on the clock.

The sides exchanged huge trifectas before Nwagbaraocha recorded a three-point play (she was 12-for-13 at the free-throw line). William Penn’s defense then ratcheted up, limiting the Pioneers to just two field goals (nine attempts) with a turnover in the waning minutes. The victors meanwhile scored one bucket and iced the win by hitting seven of their last eight free throws to run away with the win.

Nwagbaraocha finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-for-14 shooting. The junior also stole five passes in Saturday’s win.

Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) was next with 19 points; she topped WPU with a pair of blocks. Hansen warmed up to make three three-pointers as part of a 14-point effort.

Despite having a rough night at the charity stripe, Sham Troupe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) still hit double figures with 10 points as she was 5-for-6 from the floor. Her teammates, on the other hand, were an impressive 18-for-22 at the line.

Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) contributed seven points and four assists as well.

“We played great team basketball tonight,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We had so many people contribute and make plays for us! I am very proud of this group and what they accomplished tonight after everything that has happened over the last two days! This is not only a great win for us, but for all of Statesmen Nation!”

Posted by on Mar 4 2018. Filed under College Sports, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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