WPU Wins Third Quarter, Ultimately Drops Home Matchup with Bobcats
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s basketball team played hard for 40 minutes, but its first home game in nearly a month was not enough to lift it in an 82-54 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Peru State Monday.
William Penn (2-12, 1-10 Heart), playing in Penn Gymnasium for the first time since December 16, struggled to slow down the Bobcats (6-11, 4-9 Heart), who won the shooting battle 56.0%-30.0%.
PSC rolled from the opening tip, scoring seven of the first nine points and erupting for 27 by the end of the first period. The hosts had some firepower of their own with 16 first-quarter points, but then slow dramatically in the second stanza and trailed 46-23 at halftime.
The navy and gold employed a rare full-court press after the break and gave the visitors plenty of anxious moments, including forcing a total of 18 turnovers throughout the evening. William Penn, which won the third quarter with a 17-12 advantage, only committed 13 total turnovers.
Unfortunately, the turnover edge did not lead to enough success as the Statesmen were actually outscored 20-12 in points off errors.
The fourth quarter went by without WPU being able to mount a miracle comeback and Peru State walked off victorious. The Statesmen also dropped the rebounding battle 43-25, but were outscored just 13-10 in second-chance points.
Much of the navy and gold offense ran through Carley West (Jr., Saint Paul, Minn., Human Services) as she had another big offensive night. The junior finished just 8-for-25 from the field, but tallied a game-best 24 points. She connected on a pair of three-pointers and made six of her nine free throws.
Aysia Arrowood (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Sports Management) was impactful off the bench as well with 13 points, but unfortunately no other Statesmen managed to surpass four points in the loss. Mariah Baltierra (Sr., Norcross, Ga., Sports Management) finished with just four points, but contributed four assists and three steals Monday.
“Once again, the scoreboard does not show how hard the ladies competed,” Interim Head Coach Sheawn Bedford said. “Unfortunately, a slow start on both ends of the floor hurt us in this game. We were able to win the third quarter and that is something we can build on for our next opponent.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids Wednesday to face Mount Mercy in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.