Statesmen Dominate Paint to Open Season With Win Against Central Dutch

Pella--The Statesmen women's basketball team started hot and rode the storm as it beat NCAA Division III Central 73-60 in inter-associational competition Thursday.

William Penn (1-0) started its season in the win column for the second year in a row. The Statesmen outshot the Dutch 54.0%-47.6%, while also outrebounding Central 30-27. This marks the first win for Head Coach Sheawn Bedford in his first full season at the helm of the squad.

The navy and gold finished 6-for-16 in three-point attempts and connected on nine of their 10 free throws.

William Penn's offense started hot and ended the first quarter leading the Dutch 28-21. Dekota Smith (Fr., Toledo, Ohio, Applied Computer Science) led the Statesmen offense in the first quarter with eight points.

Smith went on to finish with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting (1-for-2 3-PT).

A slow start to the second quarter allowed the Dutch to cut the score to 28-26 before the Statesmen got back on the board on a three-pointer by Kayla Jones (Sr., Louisville, Ky., Psychology). The squads continued their back-and-forth battle to a 41-37 William Penn lead at the half. Jones went on to finish the night with five points and three rebounds. 

The Dutch opened the second half on a 8-0 run, but Reagan Pavesi (Jr., Austin, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) stopped the Dutch with a basket 4:04 into the third quarter. Pavesi had a stellar performance off the bench, leading the Statesmen in scoring with 19, going 7-for-11 from the floor, and 3-for-7 from behind the arc. She also tallied four rebounds and four steals.

In a game that saw 18 lead changes and 10 ties, William Penn led 52-51 entering the fourth stanza.

Neva'eh Diaz-Doolin (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) started the final period with a steal for the Statesmen, one of three for her on the day. The squads went bucket for bucket until Smith hit two shots in a row for the Statesmen to make the score 58-53. 

The five point spread remained relatively consistent until 3:53 left in the contest when Smith made her first of two free-throw attempts, followed by an offensive rebound by Kayla Carman (Sr., Gallitin, Tenn., Nursing) and finished off by Pavesi to make it 63-56. 

After a quick layup by the Dutch, Pavesi turned around and hit another shot from behind the arc to make the score 66-58. Reagan Pavesi went on to score 10 points in the last 3:46 and led the Statesmen to a 

75-64 victory.

Scoring for the Statesmen came from many fronts. Leading the way was Reagan Pavesi with 19, trailing closely behind was Dekota Smith with 17. Taylor Lawhorne (Sr., Amityville, N.Y., Business Management) and Meghanne Freehill (Jr., Lewiston, Ill., Sports Management) each had 9 apiece. Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, Secondary Education) had eight points and Kayla Jones had five. 

Leading William Penn in the assists category was Freehill with four. Reagan Pavesi, Kayla Carman, Kayla Peoples, and Taylor Lawhorne topped the Statesmen in rebounds with four apiece. 

William Penn controlled the paint with a 44-22 edge, while the visitors also recorded a 7-6 advantage in second-chance points.

Both squads struggled with ball control, but the Statesmen were a bit better with 17 turnovers, compared to 23 for Central. William Penn was impressive in converting those takeaways into points with 33 points off turnovers.

"This was a great road win to start the season," Head Coach Sheawn Bedford said. "Several players stepped up on both ends of the floor. I thought DeKota Smith, Regan Pavesi, and Meghanne Freehill were outstanding tonight.  I'm really proud of our entire program."