Statesmen Dominate William Jewell 58-30 on the Road

Liberty, Mo. -- The Statesmen women's basketball team took care of business on the road, defeating William Jewell 58-30 in nonconference play Thursday.

William Penn (4-9) outshot the Cardinals 35.7% to 18.3% despite being outrebounded 46-41 and trailing 9-5 in second-chance points.

The Statesmen forced 24 turnovers while giving up 13. William Penn capitalized, scoring 15 points off turnovers compared to Jewell's eight.

Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, nursing) opened the scoring with a three-pointer off a pass from Dekota Smith (Jr., Toledo, Ohio, computer science). The Statesmen rode the momentum to a 14-0 run, holding the Cardinals scoreless until the 4:05 mark of the first quarter. William Penn continued to roll, leading 19-4 after the opening stanza.

Peoples and Smith paced the Statesmen with 13 points each. Peoples also led the team with six rebounds, while Smith added five. Peoples shot 55.6% from the field; Smith shot 50% and led the team with three assists. Kayla Jones (Sr., Louisville, Ky., psychology) added 11 points, and Neva'eh Diaz-Doolin (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, biology) finished with six.

The second quarter belonged entirely to the Statesmen, who held the Cardinals scoreless. Jones opened the period with a pull-up jumper to put William Penn up 21-4. The Statesmen methodically extended the lead and took a 28-4 advantage into halftime.

William Jewell scored first in the second half, but Peoples answered with another three-pointer to halt any momentum. From there, the Statesmen controlled the pace and held a 45-10 lead heading into the fourth.

The Cardinals opened the final quarter with a three-pointer. William Penn went cold offensively until Smith converted a layup that sparked a 9-6 run. Jewell added a few baskets late, but the Statesmen finished off the dominant win at 58-30.

"Great team win on the road" Head Coach Sheawn Bedford Jr. said."I'm extremely proud of our effort. We dominated from start to finish. This team has been working really hard this week, and it showed tonight"

Next Up: The Statesmen return home Saturday to host Baker in Conference play at 2 p.m.