William Penn Snatches Win in Low-Scoring Matchup
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Oskaloosa–Possibly trying to one-up the weather, the Statesmen women’s basketball team hung on for a 44-36 Heart of America Athletic Conference win over Evangel Saturday.
While temperatures outside Penn Gymnasium dipped near the negative mark (easily below that if one figures in wind chill), the shooting percentages on the hardwood were unfortunately not much higher as William Penn (7-7, 4-3 Heart) outshot the Crusaders (4-8, 3-4 Heart) 31.1%-15.7%.
Evangel was limited to just eight total field goals, including a mind-boggling two in the second half. WPU kept the door slightly open by struggling mightily at the charity stripe with a 5-for-24 effort, while that was the only thing keeping the visitors alive (EU was 19-for-24 in free throws).
The Crusaders struck first, but William Penn answered with six straight and never trailed again. The navy and gold led 14-9 after the first period and 29-20 at intermission. Things seemed fairly normal at that point, but it went haywire from there with the sides combining for only 31 points in the final 20 minutes (EU outscored WPU 16-15). The visitors never got closer than five points, however, as their second half consisted of 2-for-24 shooting.
The Statesmen have prided themselves on stingy defense this campaign and it was again on display Saturday with 19 takeaways (only 11 for WPU) netting a 10-2 edge in points off turnovers. The victors also won the battle of the boards 48-46.
Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) guided her team with nine points, while the quartet of Kadejah Young (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Physical Education), Sara Petrzelka (Jr., Norway, Iowa, Physical Education), Shannika Bryant (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Exercise Science), and Destiny Spinner (Sr., Saginaw, Mich., Biology) managed six points each.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) only scored three points, but was strong on the boards with 11 rebounds. Young added four assists, while Bryant had three blocks and Spinner had three steals.
“I was very pleased with our defensive effort,” Head Coach Willie Scott said. “Unfortunately, we keep making it difficult for ourselves by shooting such low percentages from the field and at the line. We will continue working on it in practice, but overall I am very happy for our players. Our new motto is COMPETE and we did that today!”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Baldwin City, Kan. Monday to face #22 Baker in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.
