Pride run away with strong fourth quarter in 84-66 win over William Penn

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Getting the Heart of America Athletic Conference schedule started a bit early, the Clarke University women's basketball team earned an 84-66 victory over William Penn University at the Kehl Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride used a 24-15 advantage in the fourth to pull away from the Statesmen as that advantage extended to a 34-21 over the final 13:43 of the contest as WPU cut Clarke's lead to just five points at 50-45 in the third quarter as they hadn't be within two possessions since the 2:51 mark in the second quarter until that point.

That would be the closest William Penn would get as the Pride were beneficiaries of an eight-point fourth quarter from senior post Taylor Haase as she finished with her first double-double of the season 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as Mya Merschman also got her first double-double of the season with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three point range while adding 10 rebounds.

Both Nicole McDermott and Maci Kuchta added double figures and strong rebounding numbers out of the Clarke starting lineup as McDermott scored 18 points and added seven rebounds while also producing four assists, four steals, and a blocked shot while Kuchta scored 11, grabbed eight rebounds, and added three assists.

William Penn had three players in double figures led by Mercer Roberts, who scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field while hitting three of her six three point attempts as Faith Putz and Aliya Myers added 14 and 10 respectively with Myers adding eight rebounds and five assists for the Statesmen.

Clarke will head into next week with a big early season matchup in the horizon as No. 8 Central Methodist University will be in Dubuque next Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. CT matchup between the Pride and Eagles in the Kehl Center.