Ylitalo, Nwagbaraocha Lead WPU to Win Over Yellowjackets
Kate Ylitalo drives against Graceland on Saturday’s meeting of the two teams.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa—The 20th ranked Statesmen women’s basketball team resumed Heart of America Athletic Conference play on Saturday hosting Graceland.
William Penn (13-1, 8-1 Heart) shot the ball efficiently converting on 45% of its field-goal attempts. The ladies held the Yellowjackets (11-4, 5-4 Heart) to just 35% shooting and outshot them beyond the arc 35%-32% in route to a 78-58 victory.
The navy and gold got off to a hot start in the first quarter, beginning the game with a 17-5 run. Jenna Santi (Sr., Oak Creek, Wis., Sports Management) set the tempo with five points out of the gate.
The second quarter turned into a shootout between the teams. Graceland was able to cut the Statesmen lead to seven but the home team responded with Kate Ylitalo (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) who caught fire scoring 13 points in the quarter and helped maintain a 40-29 lead heading into the half.
From the third quarter on, WPU was able to cruise. The team never let its lead slip under 11 and led by as many as 22.
The ladies outrebounded their counterpart 43-30 due in large part to a team-high 12 rebounds courtesy of Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science). The senior also logged 22 points to grasp her fourth consecutive double-double.
Ylitalo finished the contest with a game-high 23 points and narrowly missed a double-double posting nine rebounds. Brenda Pennington (Jr., Hammond, Ind., Psychology) finished with eights points, six rebounds, and tie for the team-high in assists with three. RaChelle Parks (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo., Computer Science) played some inspired basketball off the bench posting eight points with a pair of rebounds and assists in just eight minutes of play.
Defensively, William Penn forced 15 Yellowjacket turnovers which included seven steals.
Next Up: The Statesmen will return to action Monday when they take on Central Methodist at Penn Gymnasium in Oskaloosa, starting at 5:30 PM.
