Clarke Hands Statesmen Conference Loss

Oskaloosa, Iowa — The Statesmen women's basketball team fell to Clarke 68-47 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

William Penn (6-15, 3-10) was outshot 44.8% to 23.8% from the floor by the Pride (10-10, 6-6).

Rebounding was nearly even, with Clarke holding a slim 44-41 edge.

William Penn committed 16 turnovers while forcing 15.

The Pride struck first, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minute and a half. Kayla Peoples (Sr., Waco, Texas, Nursing) answered with a jumper to get the Statesmen on the board.

Peoples went on to lead her squad in scoring with 12 points.

After another Clarke 3-pointer, Breacia Carter (Jr., South Beloit, Ill., General Accounting) found Peoples for a triple of their own.

Peoples followed with a layup to cut the deficit to 10-7 before the Pride closed the first quarter on a 12-4 run to take a 22-11 lead.

Clarke carried its momentum into the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the stanza. Laney Parker (Jr., Springfield, Ill., Business Management) ended the run with a 3-pointer off an assist from Kayla Jones (Sr., Louisville, Ky., Psychology) to make it 28-14.

Parker finished with 10 points, while Jones led the Statesmen with eight rebounds and four assists.

Clarke continued to apply pressure, extending its lead to 37-17 with 3:19 remaining in the half.

At halftime, the Pride led 39-21.

The second half opened with a Clarke layup, but scoring was slow to start, with just four total points over the first six and a half minutes as the Pride extended the margin to 43-21.

Aliya Wagamon (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Psychology) knocked down a free throw to put William Penn back in the scoring column.

Neva'eh Diaz-Doolin (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) made a layup to garner the first Statesmen basket from the floor in the second half with 1:18 left in the third before Parker made a three-point shoot.

Diaz-Doolin made another layup to close out the third with Clarke leading 49-30.

Jones opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a layup, but Clarke responded with a quick basket of its own.

The Pride stifled any late Statesmen rally and cruised to the final whistle.

Next Up: William Penn returns to the road for a trip to Lamoni, Iowa, to face the Graceland Yellowjackets in a Heart rematch from Jan. 14.