Statesmen Struggle in Second Half Against GVU

Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's basketball team's play was on point in the first half Wednesday, but it ran out of gas after intermission in a 71-41 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Grand View.

WPU (4-23, 3-20 Heart), which dropped its home finale, was outshot 39.7%-26.8% and outrebounded 46-33.  The hosts also committed 14 turnovers, while the Vikings (21-6, 19-4 Heart) had 12 errors.

The score at the final buzzer showed a lopsided contest, but it was anything but that entering halftime.  The navy and gold went back and forth with GVU for the first 20 minutes, including three lead changes and a plethora of ties.

Down 12-7 with 4:35 to go in the opening quarter, William Penn went on a 7-3 run to close within one (15-14) at the end of the period.  Then trailing 20-18, the Statesmen played their best ball in the middle part of the second stanza, scoring nine unanswered points for a 27-20 edge.  Unfortunately, the visitors answered as the squads hit the locker rooms tied at 31-31.

It then went south in a hurry when the players returned to the court as GVU scored the first 12 points of the third quarter.  The Statesmen failed to find any semblance of their first-half offense as the Vikings cruised to the win.

Carley West (Jr., Saint Paul, Minn., Human Services) scored a team-high 17 points, while Jaida Smith (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Business Management) also reached double digits with 11 points.  The duo of Aysia Arrowood (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Sports Management) and Mariah Baltierra (Sr., Norcross, Ga., Sports Management) both added five points as well.

Baltierra also paced her squad in rebounds (9) and assists 4), while West came up with four steals Wednesday.

WPU finished 8-for-12 at the line (GVU was 7-for-12) on a night where only 21 fouls were called.

"We battled in the first half on both ends of the floor," Interim Head Coach Sheawn Bedford said.  "Give credit to Grand View, though, as they picked up their play in the third quarter and we ultimately ran out of gas.  I am really proud of our effort and fight tonight."

Next Up: William Penn closes out its season Saturday as it travels to Baldwin City, Kan. to face Baker in Heart play at 2 p.m.