WPU Takes Down Missouri Valley on the Road
Marshall, Mo.–The Statesmen women’s basketball team knocked down 13 three-pointers and played strong defense after intermission to pull away from Missouri Valley for a 74-52 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory Tuesday.
In contrast to its 44.8% from behind the arc (13-for-29), William Penn (2-3, 2-2 Heart) limited the Vikings (1-3, 0-3 Heart) to a 13.3% clip (2-for-15).
The victory, which is WPU’s ninth in a row in the head-to-head series, saw the visitors outshoot MVC 42.6%-35.0%, including 40.0%-29.6% after halftime.
While the final score was lopsided, the first 20-plus minutes of play was a back-and-forth affair that featured four ties and seven lead changes. After allowing the opening bucket of the night, the navy and gold answered with seven straight as part of a 10-3 run. The home squad bounced right back with 10 in a row, but William Penn ended the first quarter with the final five points for a 15-15 tie.
The sides exchanged baskets in the first part of the second quarter, but a three-pointer by Maci Kuchta (Fr., Columbia, Mo., Biology) with 5:35 to go until the break gave the Statesmen the lead for good.
A 36-30 halftime advantage remained six at 43-37 until defending Heart Player of the Week Lakyla Moore (Jr., Norfolk, Neb.) connected on a trifecta to start a 10-0 run. William Penn led 60-42 entering the last period and cruised to victory from there.
Moore topped all participants with a near double-double of 19 points and nine rebounds in addition to three steals. Both squads corralled 39 rebounds with 14 offensive and 25 defensive boards apiece, while both also tallied 15 second-chance points.
Bailey Reardon (So., River Falls, Wis., Elementary Education), with 15 points, and Kuchta, with 14, also reached double figures for the victors.
Breanna Wendland (Jr., Richfield, Minn., Undecided) had the most efficient outing for William Penn, going 3-for-5 for seven points. She and Kuchta both dished out five assists, but it was Brittany West (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Sports Management) who led the way in distribution with six assists. West was good for six points and seven rebounds as well.
Caroline Hoppock (Jr., Olathe, Kan., Biology) accounted for eight points to pace the bench scoring.
Although they committed two fewer turnovers than the Vikings (11-13), the Statesmen were actually outscored 17-13 in points off mistakes. The team also overcame a tough night at the free-throw line, finishing 9-for-18 overall.
“It is always good to win on the road,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “We came out sluggish, but kept battling. We finally started playing to our level in the third quarter and shared the ball really well. This is a nice win going into a much-needed break.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni Saturday to take on Graceland in Heart play at 2 p.m.
