Losing Streak Snapped in 71-67 Win Over Yellowjackets

Oskaloosa--The Statesmen women's basketball team got the ball to finally bounce its way as it held off Graceland 71-67 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.

William Penn (2-8, 1-5 Heart) ended its losing streak at eight games and also won its first league contest by outshooting GU 44.1%-37.8% and outrebounding its foe 41-34.

Highlighted by a three-pointer from Mariah Baltierra (Sr., Norcross, Ga., Sports Management) and a pair of layups by Alyssa Hames (Grad., Ackley, Iowa, Master's of Sport Management), the hosts pulled out to an 11-2 advantage midway through the first quarter.

Still ahead 17-11 after the opening period, WPU allowed a push by the visitors as the Yellowjackets (2-8, 0-6 Heart) posted their own 11-2 run to grab their first lead at 22-19.  The squads exchanged buckets, but the navy and gold eventually hit the locker room up 36-33.

In a matchup that featured 14 lead changes and three ties, William Penn and Graceland continued to go back and forth in the second half with neither side leading by more than five points.  The Yellowjackets earned their last advantage at 63-62 with 4:06 to go, but Hames, who scored a team-best 19 points, dropped in a pair of layups in a 6-0 run and the Statesmen never trailed again.

William Penn, which has seen its fair share of disappointing finishes early on this season, was fortunately able to close out Saturday's contest.  Up one with only five seconds left, Kayla Peoples (Jr., Waco, Texas, Nursing) put the game on ice with a three-point play.  It was the final three points in an afternoon that included 15 for the junior who knocked down both of her three-point tries.

Carley West (Jr., Saint Paul, Minn., Human Services) also hit double figures with 14 points.

Aiesha Feagins (Sr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) was next with seven points, while Baltierra and Azori Edwards (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Sociology) each added six in the victory.

Hames finished with a double-double as she also notched 11 rebounds.  She matched West with four assists, while West and Peoples both stole a pair of balls.  West's all-around effort included three blocks as well.

The Statesmen were able to keep GU at bay with an extraordinary 14-for-15 showing at the free-throw line, while Graceland was just 3-for-4.

WPU also overcame a 14-10 deficit in offensive rebounds as well as 16 turnovers (12 for GU).  Despite those disadvantages, the navy and gold were even in second-chance points (13-13) and ahead in points off turnovers (14-12).

"I am super proud of our group," Head Coach Joe McKinstry said.  "The ladies deserved to be on the other side of a hard-fought game.  We had some very good individual moments and performances, but our entire team has put a lot of work into these first 10 games with little going our way.  I am happy for them and am hopeful we can build some momentum from this."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Peru, Neb. next Saturday to face Peru State in Heart play at 2 p.m.