WPU Uses Perimeter Game to Get Past Benedictine

Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's basketball team held on down the stretch as it claimed a 78-68 win over Benedictine in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.

WPU (4-4, 2-1 Heart) was on fire from behind the arc, shooting 44% (11-for-25), making up for a slight deficit in total shooting, 51.0%-50.9%.

The Statesmen got off to a rocky start against the Ravens (3-4, 1-2 Heart), falling behind 11-4 early in the first quarter. Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Physical Education) quickly turned the tide by draining back-to-back three-pointers to bring the navy and gold back within one. A few possessions later, William Penn took the lead off a Journie Augmon (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Human Services) layup. The lead did not last long, however, as the visitors took a one-point lead at the end of the quarter, 15-14.

William Penn opened the second quarter with a tremendous number of long balls as Joslyn Herbeck (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Sports Management) knocked down two perimeter shots, followed by a three-ball from Zantasia White (Sr., Lubbock, Texas, Secondary Education), giving the navy and gold a 25-21 lead.  The Statesmen kept their foot on the gas, as moments later, Emma Morts (Sr., Milford, Ill., Business Management) drained a three of her own, giving WPU seven-point advantage at 28-21.

The visitors would not go away as they went on a little run towards the end of the period and closed the deficit to six (40-34) at halftime.

The Statesmen also came out the break on a tear with four quick points from Morgan Terry (Sr., Cornersville, Tenn., Biology). After the first two baskets of the quarter, William Penn went on a dry spell, until it converted an and-one play to get rolling again.

The Ravens were not out of it, cutting the deficit down to three before Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) dropped a trifecta of her own to give the Statesmen a 57-51 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Benedictine came out strong in the final stanza, cutting the Statemen lead down to two, but Augmon shifted the momentum back in favor of William Penn as she converted a three-point play to extend the lead to five. The Statesmen were not done as Herbeck knocked down a pair of three-pointers to give the navy and gold a 73-64 lead with 3:04 left in the contest.

The visitors again tried to rally back into the game, but two free throws from Hames, and a fast break layup from White shut the door on the Ravens.

William Penn had five players finish in double figures.  Stewart paced the offense with 16 points along with five rebounds, while Terry finished with 15 points and was an exceptional distributor with a game-high eight assists. Herbeck tallied 14 points, including five assists of her own, while both White and Augmon both combined for 10.

The navy and gold were outrebounded 30-24, including losing the second chance point battle 10-7. William Penn, however, only turned over the ball 12 times (16 for the Ravens), which led to 24 points off BC mistakes.

WPU also excelled at the charity stripe, finishing 13-for-17 (76.5%), while Benedictine was just 5-for-9 in the contest.

"This was a great team win," Head Coach Jenna Santi said. "I loved watching the girls play with confidence all day on both ends of the floor!"

Next Up: William Penn will travel down to Canton, Mo. next Wednesday to take on Culver-Stockton in a Heart contest at 5:30 p.m.