OSKALOOSA — Christa Subbert carried her team for the first 39 and a half minutes and then Rachel Butler took the torch and finished the job as the William Penn women’s basketball team knocked off Upper Iowa 67-66 in non-conference play Tuesday.
Subbert scored a game-high 29 points against the NCAA Division II Peacocks (0-2), but with the Lady Statesmen trailing by one in the final seconds, Butler put home the game-winning layup to lead the team to its third win in a row.
Subbert was 10-for-19 from the field (6-for-9 3PT) and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
Penn (5-2) made seven 3-pointers to lead 38-30 at halftime.
The advantage dwindled after the break until the visitors finally trailed 5:05 into the half. The two squads battled for the remainder of the game with neither team holding a lead of more than four points.
The Lady Statesmen were eventually down by three points at 66-63 with 20 seconds left, but Nancy Chicas made a layup for two of her 14 points.
A defensive stop put the ball back in Penn’s hands. Subbert then dribbled to the basket, but her shot was off the mark. Butler was there for the offensive board and the put-back to give the Lady Statesmen the win.
The junior finished with seven points and six rebounds (four offensive), while Samantha Darley added five points.
Janice Adams had just four points, but pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Penn outrebounded the Peacocks 41-30, including a massive 19-4 offensive edge that resulted in a 14-6 edge in second-chance points.
The Lady Statesmen were victorious despite losing the shooting battle 45.8 percent to 36.4 percent.
Chicas dished out a contest-best eight assists and April Wilbur led all players with two blocks. Chandra Melaragno recorded a game-high three steals in the win.
“This was a great team win,” Lady Statesmen coach Brian Spielbauer said. “We had a lot of quality minutes from a lot of players.”
“Obviously Christa Subbert had a great night in everything she did and without her we would not have had the chances to win down the stretch,” Spielbauer added. “Nancy Chicas had a monster game at the point as well and put pressure on their defense all night. I am really proud of our players for not quitting. I look forward to what this team can do the rest of the year.”
Penn travels to Maryville, Mo., this weekend to compete in the Northwest Missouri State Classic. The Lady Statesmen face William Jewell (Mo.) Friday at 5:30 p.m. before meeting Missouri Valley Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
