NEWS RELEASE

Iowa Wesleyan College Athletics

610 N. Main St.

Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641                                                                                January 28, 2006

 

 

Tiger women clinch first winning season in 20 years, stay atop MCC standings

 

        MOUNT PLEASANT –  The Iowa Wesleyan College women’s basketball team maintained its hold of first place in the Midwest Classic Conference and clinched its first winning season in 20 years with an 84-71 victory over William Penn University Saturday afternoon at Ruble Arena.

 

          The Tigers (16-7 overall, 7-1 MCC) completed a regular-season sweep over William Penn (10-13, 4-4) and still hold a one-game lead over St. Ambrose University in the MCC standings with six league games remaining. St. Ambrose posted a 67-50 win at Viterbo University Saturday.

 

          The victory guaranteed IWC of its first winning season since the 1985-86 squad finished 17-9.

 

          “This is a great milestone for our program and a great achievement for our young ladies,” said IWC second-year coach Steve Williamson, whose team went 10-22 last season and finished sixth in the MCC. “Through our recruiting efforts, we now have the right girls who have bought into the system and are committed to winning. Without their hard work in practice and games, this accomplishment would not have happened.

 

          “This is a great start to the second half of the conference season.”

 

          Senior forward Katie Bartsch (Phoenix, AZ) enjoyed one of her best games as a Tiger, collecting her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Senior post Allison Falls (Blue Springs, MO) scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and junior Amber Pence (LaHarpe, IL) chipped in 17 points.

 

          Tiger point guard Erin McFadden (Bagley, IA) had a solid floor game with nine points, a career-high six steals and five assists. Falls also had seven rebounds for the Tigers, who held a 43-34 edge on the boards.

 

          IWC closed out the first half on a 16-6 run to take a 38-24 lead into intermission. The Lady Statesmen never drew closer than five points in the second half.

 

          Latasha Pendleton paced the Lady Statesmen with 20 points and nine rebounds.

 

          The Tigers travel to play Grand View College at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Des Moines.

 

          For more information regarding the IWC women’s basketball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Kerry Kahl (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; kkahl@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's web page at www.iwc.edu.