
Statesmen Denied in Overtime at Waldorf
Forest City--The William Penn women's basketball team experienced another barnburner Friday as it fell 74-67 in overtime to Waldorf in a non-conference matchup.
WPU (1-2) performed better in regards to ball control with just 16 turnovers, but could not overcome being outshot 39.7%-30.4% and outrebounded 43-40.
The visitors bounced out to a 4-0 advantage with back-to-back layups by Wednesday's hero Faith Putz (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa, Business Management). Unfortunately, the Warriors (2-1) answered back with nine straight and eventually led 17-14 after one quarter of play.
The margin grew to five points before the Statesmen went on a 7-0 run. Another eight unanswered later in the period allowed WPU to stretch its edge to double digits at 36-25, and the navy and gold settled on a 36-28 halftime lead. The Statesmen made just six three-pointers on the afternoon, but knocked down three of them during a second stanza which saw them shoot 50.0% overall.
WU closed to within two early in the third quarter, but the visiting crew turned the tide again and a bucket by Alyssa Hames (Jr., Ackley, Iowa, Psychology) made it an eight-point game at 44-36.
Up 54-51 entering the final period, William Penn continued to cling to a small advantage throughout most of the fourth, but the Warriors finally caught up and overtook their visitors at 63-62 with 2:07 left.
Trailing by three at 65-62, WPU, as it had less than 48 hours earlier, leaned on Putz again and from nearly the same position as her game-winner against Viterbo, the junior hit a corner trifecta to knot the game. Putz topped her squad with 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting.
Both sides had a final chance to break the tie in regulation, but came up empty.
Waldorf scored on its first possession of overtime and unfortunately never looked back. Mercer Roberts (Sr., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wellness and Recreation) produced the last of her 12 points with a layup at the 3:23 mark, but the Statesmen were unable to do any other damage in the extra session.
Aliyah Myers (Sr., Wichita, Kan., Business Management) just missed double figures with nine points, while Joslyn Herbeck (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Sociology) guided the bench with seven.
Aiesha Feagins (Jr., Grand Prairie, Texas, Applied Mathematics) was next with six points in a non-starting role, while Ally Stewart (Sr., Victoria, Australia, Sports Management) ended up with five.
Hames was William Penn's top rebounder with 11 rebounds (four points as well), while Kayla Carman (Jr., Gallitin, Tenn., Nursing) recorded two steals and Amaria Turner (So., Des Moines, Iowa, Human Services) managed two blocks.
Both teams had issues at the free-throw line Friday as the Statesmen went 13-for-22 (59.1%), while the Warriors were 8-for-15 (53.3%).
WPU was outscored 12-10 in points off turnovers and 12-3 in second-chance points.
"This feels like a big step backwards from how we were feeling after Wednesday's win," Head Coach Joe McKinstry said. "We deserved this though. We did not prepare and did not know the scouting report on Waldorf and simply did not put ourselves in a good position from the start."
"This is frustrating, but I am sure it is part of the process as we try and build towards becoming the team we want to be," McKinstry added. "This feeling of losing, however, has to mean more in order for us to grow and reach our goals."
Next Up: William Penn will travel to Columbia, Mo. next Wednesday to face Columbia in non-conference action at 5:30 p.m.