William Penn Trio Earn Scholar-Athlete Honors

Posted on March 23, 2018 by KBOE Administrator

(OSKALOOSA, Iowa) – Three players from the William Penn women’s basketball team were honored for their excellence in the classroom as they were named 2017-2018 Daktronics-NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athletes Monday.

Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Physical Education) led the group with a 3.89 Grade Point Average, while Idalis Riley (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology and Human Services) currently has a 3.73 GPA and Sarah Hansen (Sr., Neponset, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) is posting a 3.62 GPA. The honor is the first for all three individuals.

To be eligible for the award, athletes must be of at least junior academic standing, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale, and have attended the nominating institution for at least one full academic year.

For the complete list of all the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athletes, click here.

–This news release was provided by Wade Steinlage, Sports Information Director at WPU.

William Penn Women Hot from Perimeter in Wire-to-Wire Victory

Posted on February 1, 2018 by KBOE Administrator

Cedar Rapids–Guided by one of, if not the best three-point efforts in school history, the Statesmen women’s basketball team blitzed Mount Mercy 83-59 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Wednesday.

WPU (16-5, 10-2 Heart) won its third-straight contest by going 13-for-19 (68.4{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}) from behind the arc and shooting 62.5{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} overall to complete the season sweep of the Mustangs (6-17, 3-9 Heart). The win, coupled by losses to Baker and Benedictine, leaves just William Penn and MidAmerica Nazarene atop the Heart standings at 10-2.

It is the fourth different winning streak of at least three games this year for WPU.

The teams traded buckets in the opening minute, but then the navy and gold tallied 10 unanswered and led 16-5 after the first period.

Another 10-0 run in the second quarter pushed the edge to 20 points and the rout was on; the visitors eventually went ahead 40-17 by the break.

After shooting only 29.2{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} in the first half, MMU warmed up to 55.6{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} in the latter half (43.1{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} overall), but the Statesmen were even hotter at 66.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}. WPU missed just once from deep following intermission, going 7-for-8 (87.5{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}).

William Penn was Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of ‘on fire’, led by Kate Ylitalo (So., Maple Plain, Minn., Biology) finishing 7-for-9 overall and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. The sophomore led all scorers with 19 points.

As incredulous as it may seem considering Ylitalo’s stats, Jenna Santi (Jr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) was even more efficient at 5-for-6 (3-for-3 3-PT; 2-for-2 FT) to tally 15 points. The junior also dished out 10 assists to post a double-double.

Sarah Hansen (Sr., Kewanee, Ill., Psychology and Human Services) was not left out of the mix, knocking down half of her eight trifectas en route to 12 points.

Contrary to how her teammates found success, Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) did great work inside for 12 points, while Tyra Johnson (Jr., Calumet City, Ill., Undecided) joined the double-digit scene as well with 11 points off the bench.

Both Nwagbaraocha and Johnson, as well as JeAnn Hiraldo (Sr., Frisco, Texas, Industrial Technology), pulled down five rebounds apiece as WPU topped Mount Mercy 33-22 on the glass. Johnson also matched Ylitalo with a pair of steals.

Morgan Neeley (Sr., Flint, Mich., Exercise Science) sunk seven free throws in the waning minutes to contribute seven points as well.

William Penn overcame three more turnovers (19-16) than Mount Mercy.

“I thought we played as a team tonight, led by five players in double figures,” Head Coach Steve Williamson said. “Our defense set the tone to start the game and we built from there. In addition to our starters, we received a great contribution from Tyra Johnson off the bench. We still need to learn how to play a complete game, but I thought we played really well tonight.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to face Graceland in Heart action at 2 p.m.

William Penn and KMZN/KMYQ to Partner for Basketball Broadcasts

Posted on November 30, 2017 by KBOE Administrator

Oskaloosa–William Penn Athletics Director Nik Rule is proud to announce that the University has entered into an agreement with KMZN/KMYQ to broadcast radio coverage of all the men’s and women’s basketball Heart of America Athletic Conference games this winter.

Beginning with tonight’s home doubleheader against Mount Mercy (5:30 & 7:30 tipoffs), KMZN 99.5 FM and 740 AM will serve as the flagship stations for all Statesmen basketball radio broadcasts, both at home in Penn Gymnasium and on the road. KMZN/KMYQ Sports Director Emery Songer will be the ‘Voice of the Statesmen’, while Kiley Broadway will provide color commentary for most contests.

Listeners in Sigourney, Keota, Kalona, North and South English, Williamsburg, Wellman and Washington can also hear the games simulcasted on the company’s newest station, KMYQ 97.1 FM. The games will be broadcast over the internet at www.radiokmzn.com as well.

The entities have been partners for numerous years for William Penn football broadcasts.

“We are excited to partner with the team at KMZN/KMYQ to be the voice of William Penn Athletics and cover our conference basketball games this winter,” Rule said. “Many of our teams are among the best in the nation in small college athletics and we look forward to having the leader in radio in our community broadcast our games.”

“Here at KMZN/KMYQ, we are all excited about the opportunity to serve as the flagship stations for the William Penn University Statesmen,” KMZN/KMYQ General Manager Rick Watts said. “I am certain that our listeners, both over our airwaves as well as online at radiokmzn.com, will welcome the opportunity to tune in to this exciting coverage.”

The additional KMZN/KMYQ radio broadcasts will be a supplement to the video broadcasts which WPU already offers to fans at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wpu/

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