First Quarter Sinks Statesmen Against Missouri Valley

Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's basketball team could not overcome a slow start as it fell 72-55 to Missouri Valley in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (3-20, 2-17 Heart), which was outshot 43.0%-34.1% and fell short in rebounding at 42-25, trailed 25-9 after the opening stanza and failed to make up the difference.

A three-point play by Aysia Arrowood (Jr., Wichita, Kan., Sports Management), followed by a bucket by Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation), put the navy and gold out front 5-0 to start the afternoon.  It unfortunately went south quickly from there for the hosts as the Vikings (8-12, 8-10 Heart) used a couple of huge runs to go up by 16 after 10 minutes on the hardwood.

MVC eventually pushed its advantage to 21 points before the Statesmen settled in, closing to within 14 at intermission, 37-23.

William Penn trimmed the deficit to 12 at 40-28 midway through the third quarter, but could get no closer and never challenged the visitors in the setback.

The Statesmen were the more proficient three-point (9-for-25, 36.0%) and free-throw shooters (10-for-11, 90.9%), and also committed one fewer turnover (15-16) than Missouri Valley.  Unfortunately, it was not enough to make up for their overall shooting issues and the fact they were outscored 17-5 in second-chance points.

Joslyn Herbeck (Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Sociology) knocked down four of her squad's trifectas as part of a team-best 14 points.  Roberts also hit double figures with 11 points, while just missing a double-double with nine rebounds.

Jaida Smith (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Business Management) managed nine points off the bench, while Arrowood (8), Aiesha Feagins (Jr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) (6), and Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) (5) also contributed offensively Saturday.

Feagins assisted on four baskets, while Stewart stole a pair of balls.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. next Wednesday to take on Central Methodist in Heart action at 5:30 p.m.