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WPU Women’s Bowling Competes at NAIA Invitational

(HIGHLAND, Indiana) – The Statesmen Women’s Bowling Team gained great experience in a big-time national tournament setting as it battled at the NAIA Invitational Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24.

William Penn University rolled in 24 Baker games before facing off against the NAIA’s best in bracket play. The navy and gold finished 11th out of 20 teams with 4,464 pins (186.0 average), while Indiana Tech claimed the top seed with 4,781 pins (199.2 average).

By finishing in the top 12, the Statesmen received a bye in the double-elimination format and took on #6 seed Grand View in the second round. Unfortunately, the squad came up just short in a 3-2 loss (204-201, 171-245, 189-180, 176-207, 215-268).

WPU was demoted to the consolation bracket and failed to move on, ending its trip at 0-2 with a 3-1 setback to #14 Marian (Ind.) (175-195, 158-258, 197-168, 150-252).

This is the final year the NAIA will have an Invitational as next year the sport moves to Championship status.

Team members included Nicole Craft (So., Wakefield, Neb., Physical Education), Abbey Fangman (Fr., Waterloo, Iowa, Elementary Education), Audra Farley (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Education), Kaylee Gerken (Jr., Dubuque, Iowa, Elementary Education), Kayla Gifford (So., Camanche, Iowa, Biology), Nicole Mottier (Fr., Madison, Wis., Computer Science), Amber Ovel (Jr., Waterloo, Iowa, Business Management), and Bailey Palmer (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Undecided).

This story was provided in a news release sent on behalf of William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Statesmen Men’s Bowling Takes Fourth at NAIA Invite

(HIGHLAND, Indiana) – The William Penn University Men’s Bowling Team made a deep run, but fell shy of a national crown as it competed at the NAIA Invitational Friday, March 23 through Sunday, March 25.

William Penn rolled in 24 Baker qualifying games before facing off against the NAIA’s best in bracket play. The navy and gold finished fourth out of 20 teams with 5,132 pins (213.8 average), while Webber International (Fla.) and Robert Morris (Ill.) tied for the most pins with 5,457 (227.4 average). Webber international won the tiebreaker to claim the top seed.

By finishing in the top 12, the Statesmen bowlers received a bye in the double-elimination format and took on #20 seed Lindsey Wilson in the second round. The program won its first match 3-1 by scores of 216-196, 193-215, 215-174, 191-187.

Unfortunately, in a foreshadowing of the future, WPU was dropped to the consolation bracket with a 3-0 loss to #5 seed St. Ambrose (160-213, 163-223, 202-247).

However, William Penn rebounded after the setback by winning three consecutive matches to get to the consolation quarterfinals. First, the navy and gold dropped #16 seed Concordia (Mich.) 3-1 (184-214, 217-163, 210-181, 201-156) and then defeated #9 seed St. Francis (Ill.) by the same 3-1 tally (162-189, 206-169, 246-231, 235-194).

WPU claimed its biggest win as it eliminated #2 seed Robert Morris in five games (234-227, 136-243, 199-202, 257-231, 222-215), but the road to the biggest trophy ended in the next round as St. Ambrose slipped past the Statesmen 3-1 (203-209, 237-221, 233-280, 171-246). WPU finished the tournament with a 4-2 record, tying SAU and Lawrence Tech for the second-best record in the field.

The Fighting Bees eventually reached the final and actually forced an ‘if necessary’ match, but Webber International held its seed for the crown.

This is the final year the NAIA will have an Invitational as next year the sport moves to Championship status.

Team members included Quincy Bruce (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, General Accounting), Braxton Coble (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Business Management), David Decker (So., Peyton, Colo., Physical Education), Bret Keimig(Sr., Davenport, Iowa, Physical Education), Aleksander Kostric (Fr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), Rok Kostric (Fr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), Curtis Majka (Sr., Elgin, Ill., Mechanical Engineering), and Nick Walker (Jr., Zeeland, Mich., Business Management).

For his efforts, Rok Kostric was named to the five-person all-tournament team.

William Penn will try for an even bigger national crownthe ultimate crownas it competes in the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships in Lincoln, Neb. from April 1621.

This story was provided in a news release sent on behalf of William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Strong Bench Keys LSU Alexandria’s Semifinal Victory Over WPU

Story By Chad Waller | NAIA National Office

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) Powered by a game-ending 29-19 run, No. 4 seeded LSU Alexandria (La.) eliminated No. 1 William Penn (Iowa), 84-75, in the second semifinal of the 81st Annual NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, Monday evening inside Municipal Auditorium. The Generals face tournament newcomer No. 5-seeded Graceland (Iowa) in the national championship title contest on Tuesday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. CDT, broadcast live on ESPN3.

NOTES

  • LSU Alexandria improves to 29-7 and heads to its first-ever title contest on Tuesday
  • The Generals are playing in their fourth season of varsity competition
  • William Penn ends its season with a record of 30-5
  • This marks the first year since 1961 that a team from Louisiana played in the title game (Grambling)
  • The higher seeds are 15-15 through 30 games, while 24 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer including 14 by six points or less

WPU Women’s Basketball Throttles Graceland

Lamoni–A strong defensive effort headlined the William Penn women’s basketball team’s 77-42 victory over Graceland in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (10-4, 4-1 Heart), which is off to its best 14-game start since 2010-2011 (also 10-4), limited the Yellowjackets (4-9, 1-4 Heart) to just 24.5{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} from the field.

The visitors scored the first 11 points of the afternoon and were off to the races from there. The squad led 23-9 after the opening period and pushed that edge to 24 (41-17) at intermission.

William Penn, which shot 42.2{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} (37.5{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} 3-PT), grew its advantage to a game-high 37 points in the third quarter.

A nice chunk of the victors’ offense was produced via its defense as the navy and gold forced 23 turnovers (14 steals), leading to a 30-6 margin in points off turnovers. Both Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) and Sarah Hansen (Sr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) tallied four thefts Saturday.

Ylitalo was her team’s top scorer with 17 points, including four three-pointers, while Hansen made a trio of trifectas en route to a 15-point showing. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) joined her teammates in double figures with 12 points; the junior actually had a double-double by corraling 13 rebounds. WPU outrebounded GU 50-35.

Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education), who also assisted on seven baskets, matched Tyra Johnson (Jr., Calumet City, Ill., Undecided) with nine points. Johnson was perfect in the matchup, making all three of her field goals and all three of free throws. The Statesmen were 73.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} from the charity stripe.

“We had great effort today!” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “Our ladies did great on both ends and played Statesmen basketball today!”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Grand View in Heart play at 5:30 p.m.


This coverage was provided as a news release sent to KBOE 104.9FM by Wade Steinlage, William Penn University Sports Information Director.

WPU Men’s Basketball Knocks Off Yellowjackets

Lamoni–In a day full of obstacles to overcome, the Statesmen men’s basketball team did enough to hand Graceland its first Heart of America Athletic Conference setback in a 90-84 win Saturday.

#3 William Penn (14-1, 4-1 Heart) is now tied with the Yellowjackets (10-6, 4-1 Heart) at the top of the North Division standings, doing so with a blistering second half that saw the team shoot 60.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} from the field and 72.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} from behind the arc.

The visitors were slow to get started Saturday, making just two of their first 14 shots. The navy and gold trailed 14-7 seven minutes into play, but rallied back to take the advantage momentarily. Both teams then each enjoyed small runs down the stretch with GU eventually holding a 38-37 edge at the break.

The home squad remained in the lead for the first half of the latter stanza, but the Statesmen got hot from deep with four consecutive three-pointers, including three by Corbin Medley (Sr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting). The senior was electric, going 8-for-9 overall, headlined by a 6-for-7 effort from three-point land, for a game-high 22 points off the bench.

“I am very happy for Corbin; it was definitely his night,” Head Coach John Henry said. “It was also great as his parents and grandparents were at the game.”

Graceland responded with six straight of its own to knot the contest at 64-64 with 7:16 to go, but seven unanswered put the navy and gold on top for good. The Statesmen went up by a game-high 10 points at 80-70 with 2:07 to go and held on by connecting their final six free throws. While the last two minutes were excellent, the charity stripe was actually a weak spot for the victors, who finished just 14-for-23 overall.

Surprisingly, William Penn’s 90 points are a season low; the team entered Saturday leading NAIA Division I with 108.4 points per game.

Aakim Saintil (Sr., West Orange, N.J., Business Management) finished just behind Medley in scoring with 21 points as he made five trifectas and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. WPU, which outshot GU 50.8{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}-48.4{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}, was incredible from deep at 51.9{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} (14-for-27).

Terrell Thompson (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Wellness and Recreation) produced 14 points and dished out a contest-high eight assists. Dominique Shaw (Sr., Lufkin, Texas, Wellness and Recreation), with 12 points, and Mikeal Donaldson (Sr., Columbia, S.C.), with 11, also reached double figures.

JC Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Sociology) tallied just four points, but was a major presence on the boards and on defense with team highs in rebounds (7), steals (3), and blocks (2). The Statesmen lost the rebounding battle (36-32) for the first time this year, but were better in turnovers, committing just 10 mistakes (13 for GU). That resulted in a 16-13 mark in points off turnovers.

“This was a great road win for our program,” Henry said. “We overcame a lot tonight, including transportation issues, and we did not play well for most of the game. We fortunately stayed together, made enough shots, and played just enough defense to win.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Heart rival Grand View in the annual Toilet Paper game at 7:30 p.m. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a free PennZone t-shirt.


This coverage was provided as a news release sent to KBOE 104.9FM by Wade Steinlage, William Penn University Sports Information Director.

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