Rally Falls Short Against Owls

Fulton, Mo.--The William Penn women's basketball team nearly overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half, but ultimately fell 54-51 to William Woods in a non-conference game Thursday.

WPU (2-2), which trailed by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter, could not get past being outshot 46.0%-35.0%. The visitors were able to stay in the contest with great ball control, committing just seven turnovers, compared to 20 for William Woods (1-3). That led to a 10-4 advantage in points off turnovers, but it was not enough in the end.

Morgan Terry (Sr., Cornersville, Tenn., Biology) opened with the game's first three points, but WWU rattled off a seven-point run and eventually led 11-7 after one quarter.

The home team continued to add to its lead early in the second quarter, but the navy and gold turned it around as four players, including buckets by Alexis True (Sr., Frankfort, Ky., Exercise Science) and Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Physical Education) at the end, brought the Statesmen within three at halftime, 21-18. Eight different players scored for William Penn Thursday.

A 9-2 run helped the Owls extend their lead to a game-high 10 points exactly three minutes into the second half. William Penn fought back, though, and trimmed the deficit back to three at 36-33 entering the fourth and final period.

Led by the trio of Stewart, Terry, and Zantasia White (Sr., Lubbock, Texas, Secondary Education), the navy and gold came alive in the last quarter; the three players accounted for 17 of WPU's 18 fourth-quarter points. Stewart's three-pointer with 4:36 left gave William Penn its first lead since the start of the night. Unfortunately, William Woods answered with five straight points to recapture the advantage for good.

The Owls scored the final points of the game with 1:47 to go, leaving the Statesmen several chances to tie or at least get closer, but the visitors missed three shots and had a turnover down the stretch in the setback.

WPU, which was outrebounded 39-30, was defeated in the perimeter battle 27.8%-18.2%. Stewart paced the navy and gold from behind the arc, making three trifectas as part of a 15-point effort.

Terry also reached double digits with 11 points in addition to six rebounds and three assists. True added eight points with three steals, while Journie Augmon (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Human Services) led the bench scorers with five points and five rebounds.

Next Up: William Penn will be back in Oskaloosa on November 23 to take on Stephens in non-conference action at 2:30 p.m.