Turnovers Doom WPU in Season-Opening Loss to Hornets

St. Louis, Mo.--The William Penn women's basketball team could not maintain its hot start as it fell 57-54 in its season opener to non-conference foe Harris-Stowe State Saturday.

The Statesmen (0-1) outshot the Hornets 41.0%-37.2%, but committed 27 turnovers as they lost in Head Coach Joe McKinstry's Statesmen debut.

Buckets by Aliyah Myers (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Business Management) and Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) gave the navy and gold an early 4-0 edge and Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation) knocked down a three-pointer as the Statesmen led 9-2 just 3:11 into the first quarter.

Trifectas by Nikeshia King (Jr., Covington, Wash., Sports Management) and Stewart and a three-point play from Myers extended the visitors' edge to 19-9, while Joslyn Herbeck (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Sociology) connected on a deep ball to make it 22-10 with 3:17 left on the clock in the first period.

The first quarter was a frenetic one with WPU, which shot 69.2% in the opening quarter, holding a 25-20 edge at the buzzer.  The electric Statesmen unfortunately were quickly stymied as H-SSU (1-0) scored the first nine points of the second quarter.  WPU got going again to eventually reclaim the lead at 36-34 at intermission.

The hosts kept rolling after the break, taking the lead for good in the opening minutes of the third period, but William Penn stayed close.  Down eight entering the final 10 minutes, the Statesmen trimmed the margin to two at 52-50 and had a chance to force overtime with a final possession.  Unfortunately, a last-second three-point try by Faith Putz (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa, Business Management) fell short in a contest where all 11 Statesmen who played were able to score.

Myers topped the navy and gold with 11 points, including going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.  Overall, the Statesmen were 17-for-25 (68.0%) at the charity stripe, while the Hornets locked up the victory with a 25-for-31 effort.

Mercer was next with seven points, while the quintet of Stewart, King, Kayla Carman (Jr., Gallitin, Tenn., Nursing), Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology), and Taylor Lawhorne (So., Amityville, N.Y., Business Management) all scored five points.

Lawhorne was William Penn's best rebounder with seven, while both sides managed 27 rebounds each.

The difference in the game, however, came in turnovers as the Statesmen only caused 17 Hornet mistakes, leading to a 21-11 deficit in points off turnovers.

Aiesha Feagins (Jr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) paced the defense with three steals.

"This is a really frustrating loss," Head Coach Joe McKinstry said.  "I am disappointed for our girls.  Today does not reflect the effort and dedication they have shown every day.  I have no doubt that we will continue to grow and get better, but we need to make it happen and not just hope for it to happen."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday for its home opener, hosting Viterbo in non-conference action at 6 p.m.