Oskaloosa--The Penn women's basketball team exacted revenge of an earlier season loss by dropping Mount Mercy 70-54 in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Wednesday.

After a poor start that allowed the visiting Mustangs to pull ahead by as much as six, Penn (115-15, 6-10 MCC), who had fallen to Mount Mercy 55-51 on January 23, took the lead for good at 16-15 with 7:50 remaining in the first half. The Lady Statesmen owned a 32-25 advantage at halftime.

The second half continued to be in Penn's favor as the hosts led by double digits nearly throughout, including by as much as 19 in the final seconds.

Ashlee McClure (Jr., Friendswood, Texas, San Jacinto CC) had a season-high 18 points to pace all players, while Veronica Henton (Jr., Paradise, Calif., Butte CC) added 16 points and a team-best three steals. Rashawn Rupe (Jr., Corydon, Wayne HS) reached double figures as well with ten points.

Lindsey Edgeman (So., Niangua, Mo., Truman State), Melissa Johnson (So., Smithfield, Utah, Skyview HS), and Christa Subbert (Fr., Stanton, Stanton HS) contributed six points each in the win. Subbert also led all participants with ten rebounds.

Carrie Parker (Sr., Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS), who was honored after the game as the lone senior on the team, played with an injured ankle and managed two points with two rebounds and two assists.

Penn owned a 43.9%-38.6% edge from the field and completely dominated the boards with a 49-24 margin.

Possibly most impressive, though, was the team's performance at the charity stripe. The Lady Statesmen made all 16 of their attempts to break a school record for free-throw percentage in a single game. The previous record was 96.8% when Penn made 30-31 against Butler on March 20, 1982.

Penn will now have to wait to see who its first-round opponent is in next week's MCC Tournament. All the Lady Statesmen know is that they will be on the road against an unknown foe Thursday (either Grand View in Des Moines or Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant).

First-round details will be announced early next week.