William Penn Falters in Waning Minutes at Peru State

Peru, Neb.--The Statesmen women's basketball team pushed its host for most of the afternoon, but could not close it out in a 63-49 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Peru State Saturday.

WPU (3-19, 2-16 Heart), which was outshot 35.4%-30.8% and outrebounded 43-25, had the Bobcats (7-16, 5-14 Heart) against the ropes midway through the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, PSC finished the game with 16 unanswered points to claim the league victory.

Aysia Arrowood (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Sports Management), who had an extraordinary outing with 25 points, knocked down a pair of three-pointers as the navy and gold grabbed an 18-12 edge.  William Penn, which eventually led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter, unfortunately struggled during the second period and entered halftime facing a 30-27 deficit.

WPU continued to trail 45-37 after three stanzas of action, but caught fire in the fourth.  Beginning with a three-point play by Carley West (Jr., Saint Paul, Minn., Human Services), the Statesmen went on a 12-2 run.  West scored eight points during the stretch en route to a 10-point performance.

Peru State would control the rest of the contest, however, as William Penn failed to collect the road win.

Arrowood's 25 points came on 6-for-13 shooting, including a 5-for-10 effort from the perimeter.  The senior, who was also 8-for-9 at the charity stripe, corralled eight rebounds in addition to two steals and an assist.

Jaida Smith (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Business Management), who made two trifectas, matched Arrowood with eight rebounds.  West and Smith joined Arrowood with two thefts each.

Both teams finished with 14 turnovers, but the Statesmen were outscored 21-10 in points off errors.  The visitors also came up short in second-chance points, 20-4.

The Statesmen were able to stay in the game, though, by making eight three-pointers on 36.4% shooting, while also finishing 9-for-10 at the free-throw line.

"This was a tough loss on the road," Interim Head Coach Sheawn Bedford said.  "We battled all game, but Peru State finished well, and we ran out of energy.  I am proud of our overall effort."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Dubuque next Monday to face Clarke in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.