Statesmen Fall at Columbia

Columbia, Mo.--The William Penn women's basketball team was unable to strike a match to get a fire going as it fell 84-45 to Columbia in non-conference action Wednesday.

WPU (1-3) was outshot 43.8%-23.9% and outrebounded 62-38 in a game where it failed to knock off Columbia (4-0), a squad receiving votes nationally.

The visitors dug themselves a huge hole and unfortunately never threatened their hosts.

Down 42-12 at halftime, the Statesmen regrouped and battled in the third, being outscored just 21-20.  The lone positive in the contest came at the free-throw line as William Penn held a 9-8 edge in points at the stripe.

Faith Putz (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa, Business Management) guided the squad with 10 points, while Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) was next with eight points, headlined by two three-pointers.

Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) scored seven points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, while Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management) matched her point total as she led the bench scoring.

The duo of Aiesha Feagins (Jr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) and Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation) added five points each, and Putz and Aliyah Myers (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Business Management) dished out three assists each in the setback.

"We need to understand that we are in full control of our success," Head Coach Joe McKinstry said.  "Obviously we were able to get some things going in the second half, but by that time it was certainly too late.  It is hard to beat anyone when you only shoot 24% from the field, let alone a great team and program like Columbia.  We will find the positives from our second half tonight and try to channel that into some more consistency moving forward."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Dubuque Saturday to face Clarke in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener at 2 p.m.