Nov. 17, 2007
Box Score
The Upper Iowa women's basketball team played host to the Lady Statesmen of William Penn on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Peacocks came in confident after a win over Mt. Mercy Thursday night. William Penn came into Saturday's contest with a 3-2 record. After a forty-five minute slugfest, William Penn came out victorious in an overtime nail-biter 69-64.
The first half was a physical and sloppy one. Upper Iowa committed 13 turnovers, which helped William Penn stay close and eventually take the lead. The scoring was evenly spread for the Peacocks in the first half, but Chelsea Petersen led the team with 6 points. Kim Thompson sparked the Peacocks toward the end of the first half with 4 points and 2 boards off the bench. The Lady Statesmen took advantage of the charity stripe hitting 8 of 11 attempts. Seemingly all of the hustle stats were in favor of William Penn as they forced 13 turnovers and pulled down two more offensive rebounds than Upper Iowa. The Lady Statesmen had the lead 27-25 at halftime.
Kim Thompson continued to be the leader the Peacocks needed in the second half. Upper Iowa pulled out to a 12-point lead thanks to improved ball-handling and hustle. William Penn stayed aggressive and did not go away quietly. William Penn cut the lead to 2 points with four minutes left. Eventually, the Lady Statesmen took the lead 57-56 with under a minute to play. Tibisa Thor hit two huge free throws for William Penn to put the Lady Statesmen up by three with 22 seconds remaining. Andrea Downs delivered a clutch three-point basket to tie it up at 59. Upper Iowa had a shot with 2 seconds to win the game, but a Britney Iredale prayer went unanswered.
Carrie Parker was the first to score in overtime with two free throws. Ashley Martin broke out of a cold-shooting streak with an important three-point basket. The Lady Statesmen spent a lot of time at the free throw line finishing 25 of 36 from the stripe. William Penn led 65-64 with under a minute to play in overtime. They extended their lead to three with two more free throws from Thor. William Penn had a costly turnover with 7 seconds left that gave the Peacocks one last chance. The Peacocks were charged with an offensive foul that gave the ball back to the visitors and two more free throws sealed the win for William Penn.
Thompson led Upper Iowa with 14 points and 5 rebounds including 4 on the offensive boards. Downs netted 12 points and handed out 9 assists while pulling down 5 rebounds. Ashley Martin and Chelsea Petersen were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Christa Hammel led the home team on the glass with 7 while Petersen and Sara Best each pulled down 6.
William Penn was led by Parker who finished with a game-high 26 points. Thor was the only other Lady Statesmen in double figures with 12 points. Christa Subbert led the visitors with 8 rebounds while Chandra Melaragno and Janice Adams each grabbed 7 caroms.
UIU shot 37.1% for the game from the field and 15.4% (4-26) from behind the arc. WPU shot 32.3% from the floor and 23.5% (4-17) from three. The difference in the teams offenses was at the free throw line as Upper Iowa made 8 of 12 free throw attempts while William Penn took advantage of their 25 makes in 36 attempts. The Peacocks won the rebounding battle 45 to 44.
Upper Iowa will look to bounce back next Wednesday night, Nov. 21, at Central College in Pella, Iowa. The Peacocks and Dutch will renew an old rivalry from the Iowa Conference with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.
