Published: January 08, 2009 08:50 am      

Saints earn split with William Penn University

CLINTON — The Ashford University basketball teams returned to Midwest Collegiate Conference action for the first time in 2009 Wednesday evening and split a doubleheader as the women won a thriller 68-65 from William Penn University while the men suffered a disappointing loss 77-71 that was a close game from opening tip to the final minute at Kehl Arena .

With the win the Lady Saints improved their record to 8-10 overall and 2-2 in the MCC while the Lady Statesmen are now 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

In the opening game, the visitors from Oskaloosa jumped out to a 11-5 lead after the first four minutes by connecting on four of their eight 3-point field goals in the first half.

The Saints answered back with a 3-point field goal from Jessie Rosenow (14 points), a pair of baskets from Kim Fabry (team-high 22 points) and a pair of buckets from Michelle Woolley to tie the game at 11 with 15:05 showing on the clock.

The teams exchanged baskets during the next nine minutes and the game was tied three more times, at 18, 22 and 24 with just over five minutes left in the first half.

The Saints got their first lead in the game when Kayla Crist hit her only field goal of the game with a 3-pointer and Kelly Fisher connected on a pair of free throws putting them on top 29-26.

The Lady Statesmen came back with a 6-0 run to regain the lead by three points 32-29 at halftime.

The second half was almost a repeat of the first half as the teams exchanged baskets and the Lady Statesmen increased their lead to seven points after the first four minutes, 41-34.

The Saints fought back to tie the game at 41 and then Kelly Fisher (nine points) hit a jumper and was fouled and made her free throw for a 3-point play and put the Saints back on top by a point 44-43 with 13:45 showing on the clock.

The Saints were able to hold on to the lead the rest of the game but the biggest margin was just five points two different times, once was 56-51 with just under six minutes remaining and again 60-55 with 3:09 on the clock.

Once again the visitors hit a couple of 3-pointers to cut the margin down to just two points 65-63 but the Saints got a couple of baskets from Rosenow and a free throw from Jordan Davis to hold on for the win.

The Lady Statesmen had two players in double figures, paced by Christa Subbert with 25 points and Rashawn Rupe with 10.

The Saints will be back in conference action this Saturday when they host Grand View College in a doubleheader with a 1 p.m. starting time followed by the men at 3 p.m.

“This was a tremendous effort and win by our team. Throughout the game, we had somebody step up on both ends of the floor as we held them to just two offensive rebounds in the second half and we only committed 12 turnovers for the entire game. This was a total team win as the girls have been working hard and it’s nice to see their efforts be rewarded with a win like tonight,” said Ashford coach Chris Powers.

In the men’s game, Josh Pickens (team-high 19 points) hit his first of two 3-pointers, a basket and a free throw from Daniel Joiner (nine points) for a 3-point play and a bucket from Peter Tanzillo (eight points) to give the Saints an 8-4 lead after the first three minutes.

The Statesmen answered back with a 19-5 run to go on top 24-13 midway in the first half.

The Saints got a couple of baskets from Rashad Carrington (17 points) and a basket each from Jonathan Wyatt and Tim DePaoli, but the visitors would come back to hold on to a 11 point lead, 33-22 at halftime.

The Statesmen came out strong in the second half and increased the lead to 15 points, 43-28 after the first four minutes.

The Saints came up with a short 10-1 run to cut the margin down to five points, 43-38 with the clock showing 13:38.

Scoring for the Saints was Matthias Burns (10 points) with a couple of baskets along with a pair of field goals from Carrington, one was a 3-pointer.

The Statesmen continued to add to their lead and with just over six minutes left in the game they went on top by 15 points, 66-51.

The Saints kept fighting back and came up with a short 11-2 run to cut the margin to just four points 72-68 with 1:30 showing on the clock and the Statesmen held on for the win.

William Penn improved their record to 11-5 overall and 3-1 MCC. They had four players in double figures, Kris Miller 19, Jesse DeGeest 16, Alvin Robertson 13 and Alex Robinson 12.

The Saints will be back in action Saturday when they host Grand View College at 3 p.m.

“We competed throughout the game but our guys just couldn’t come up with the big plays at the crucial times when we needed them,” said Ashford coach Andy Eberhart.

WOMEN’S GAME

WILLIAM PENN (65)

Tibisa Thor 1-5 2-2 4, Kylie Birkicht 3-9 0-0 9, Rashawn Rupe 3-11 2-4 10, Christa Subbert 7-13 8-8 25, Chandra Melaragno 1-5 0-0 2, Emma LaBeau 0-2 2-2 2, Melissa Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Teresa Nguyen 0-2 0-0 0, Raven House 1-3 0-0 2, Khyia Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Janice Adams 4-8, 1-5 9. Totals 21-59 15-21 65.

ASHFORD (68)

Michelle Woolley 3-10 0-0 6, Jordan Davis 0-0 4-5 4, Kim Fabry 9-14 3-3 22, Jessie Rosenow 6-10 0-0 14, Bethany Mahmens 0-0 0-0 0, Whitney Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Kelly Fisher 3-11 3-6 9, Kayla Crist 1-5 0-0 3, Lauren Fairbert 1-2 2-2 4, Shel’si Weaver 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 25-59 14-18 68.

Halftime score—WP 32, Ashford 29. 3-point field goals—WP 8-24 (Birkicht 3-7, Subbert 3-5, Rupe 2-6, Thor 0-2, LaBeau 0-2, Nguyen 0-2); Ashford 4-17 (Rosenow 2-2, Fabry 1-4, Crist 1-2, Woolley 0-4, Weaver 0-3, Fisher 0-2). Rebounds—WP 38 (Birkicht 6); Ashford 32 (Woolley 6, Crist 6, Fabry 5, Fisher 5, Weaver 5, Mahmens 3, Miller, Fairbert). Assists—WP 14 (Thor 7); Ashford 18 (Woolley 8, Davis 3, Fabry 3, Fairbert 3, Miller). Steals—WP 4 (Melaragno 2); Ashford 8 (Fisher 2, Fairbert 2, Woolley, Rosenow, Weaver). Turnovers—WP 16, Ashford 12. Total fouls—WP 18, Ashford 19. Fouled out—Ashford (Fisher).

Records—William Penn 6-11, (1-3 MCC); Ashford 810 (2-2 MCC). Next game—Grand View College at Ashford University, 1 p.m. Saturday.

MEN’S GAME

WILLIAM PENN (77)

Kris Miller 6-15 3-4 19, Alvin Robertson 6-11 0-2 13, Jesse DeGeest 5-9 3-4 16, Joel Stout 1-10 2-2 5, Alex Robinson 4-7 4-6 12, Mickey Penn 0-1 0-2 0, Kyle Creamer 1-3 0-0 3, Justin Long 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Womack 4-9 1-3 9, Terry Coleman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 13-23 77.

ASHFORD (71)

Josh Pickens 5-13 7-8 19, Tim DePaoli 2-4 0-0 4, Daniel Joiner 2-10 5-8 9, Matthias Burns 4-10 0-0 10, Peter Tanzillo 4-5 0-0 8, Rashad Carrington 5-10 4-4 17, Ivan Rivera 0-0 0-0 0, Jarret Mulholland 1-1 0-0 2, Jonathan Wyatt 1-2 0-0 2, Klynton Bollinger 0-0 0-0 0, Marvin Kidd 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 16-20 71.

Halftime Score—William Penn 32, Ashford 29. 3-point field goals—WP 10-26 (Miller 4-9, DeGeest 3-4, Creamer 1-3, Robertson 1-2, Stout 1-8); Ashford 7-22 (Carrington 3-4, Pickens 2-9, Burns 2-4, Joiner 0-3, DePaoli 0-2). Rebounds—WP 41 (DeGeest 10); Ashford 29 (Burns 12, Joiner 4, DePaoli 3, Pickens 3, Tanzillo 3, Carrington 2, Kidd 2). Assists—WP 11 (Robertson 3); Ashford 13 (Carrington 4, DePaoli 3, Burns 3, Joiner 2, Pickens). Steals—WP 11 (Robinson 3); Ashford 12 (Burns 4, Carrington 3, DePaoli 2, Pickens, Wyatt, Kidd). Turnovers—WP 19, Ashford 22. Total fouls—WP 17, Ashford 19. Fouled out—Ashford (Kidd).

Records—William Penn 12-5 (4-1 MCC); Ashford 7-10 (1-3 MCC). Next game— Grand View College at Ashford University 3 p.m. Saturday.