Statesmen Drop Single-Possession Game to Yellowjackets

Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's basketball team failed to win a close one Wednesday, falling 72-69 to Graceland in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

WPU (4-7, 2-4 Heart) started off the game fast, jumping out to a 10-3 lead before Graceland (7-6, 2-5 Heart) began cutting into the lead.

The Statesmen, who led 18-16 after the first period, traded baskets with the Yellowjackets to open the second quarter before the visitors went on a 12-2 run to go up 30-23 midway through the quarter. A few moments later, Aiesha Feagins (Jr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) came off the bench and knocked down a pair of trifectas to make it just 36-34 in favor of GU at halftime.

The back-and-forth battle continued after intermission as back-to-back layups by Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Physical Education) and Morgan Terry (Sr., Cornersville, Tenn., Biology) tied the game up at 48-48. WPU knotted the score three more times in the third, including Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) dropping in a bucket at the buzzer as the sides entered the final quarter at 56-56.

The Yellowjackets began the fourth with four straight points, but William Penn countered with eight in a row to lead 64-60 lead with 4:55 remaining. While Graceland rallied back, Joslyn Herbeck (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Sports Management) sank four consecutive free throws to keep the hosts on top at 68-66 with 2:29 on the clock.

Unfortunately, the visitors scored on their next two possessions to take the advantage for good. WPU, on the other hand, was unsuccessful on back-to-back trips. Herbeck was able to connect on one of two free throws with 54 seconds left to draw the navy and gold within one at 70-69 with 54 ticks left.

GU then answered with two charity-stripe tries of its own, but the door was still left open for WPU to possibly force overtime with a three-pointer. The Statesmen were not able to get a long ball off, however, and missed on two shots inside the arc as time expired.

Although it was a close bout, the Statesmen were outshot 45.5%-38.9%. WPU was able to stay in it, though, by winning the three-point battle at 35.0%-7.1, while also finishing an impressive 20-for-23 at the line (GU was 11-for-14). William Penn was unfortunately outrebounded 38-30 in the loss, including a significant 13-7 margin on the offensive glass.

A quartet of Statesmen finished in double figures with Stewart leading the group with 18 points and a team-high five assists. Feagins followed with 13 points and six rebounds in a non-starting role, while Terry finished with 12 points along with four assists. Herbeck tallied 11 points as well.

Next Up: William Penn will travel down to Olathe, Kan. on Saturday to take on MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart action at 2 p.m.