Statesmen Fall to Culver-Stockton on the Road

Canton, Mo.--The William Penn women's basketball team dropped a road contest Wednesday, falling 75-38 to Culver-Stockton in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (7-20, 4-15 Heart) was outshot 58.5%-31.1% and outrebounded 37-18. The Statesmen forced 14 turnovers, but struggled to capitalize, scoring just nine points off those mistakes, while the Wildcats turned 19 William Penn miscues into 20 points.

WPU kept things close in the first quarter as Dekota Smith (Jr., Toledo, Ohio, Computer Science) and Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, Nursing) each scored five points, sending the Statesmen into the second quarter trailing just 18-13.

Unfortunately, it was all C-SC the rest of the way. The Wildcats outscored the Statesmen 16-8 in the second quarter to take a commanding 34-21 lead into halftime and never looked back.

In the second half, the Statesmen failed to mount a comeback.

Peoples finished with a team-high 12 points, while Laney Parker (Jr., Springfield, Ill., Business Management) added nine, including shooting a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc.  Peoples also guided WPU with four assists and tied for the squad high in rebounds with three.  Parker topped the navy and gold defensively with three steals, while Amaria Turner (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Human Services and Psychology and Sociology) blocked two shots.

"Culver Stockton outplayed us tonight." Head Coach Sheawn Bedford Jr. said. "We were a step behind on both ends of the floor. It's hard to win a game when you only have 1 offensive rebound. Hopefully we can learn from this and be better against Missouri Valley"

Next Up: William Penn concludes its season Saturday by traveling to Marshall, Mo. to face Missouri Valley in Heart play at 2 p.m.