St. Ambrose closed the game on an 8-0 run to defeat William Penn 60-52 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Wednesday night.

On a night where neither team shot better than 35 percent from the floor, it was SAU that made plays late.

After William Penn (1-8) had drawn even at 52-52, Kania Starks broke the tie with a 3-pointer from the corner.

Abby Wolter, back in the lineup after missing the previous two games, scored inside to pad the lead. Caitlyn Thole hit two free throws with 38 seconds remaining, and Starks finished the scoring with a single free throw with 10 seconds left.

Over the final three minutes, after tying the game, the Statesmen went 0-of-4 from the floor, missed two from the line and committed a pair of turnovers.

The Bee defense stood out all game.

William Penn shot just .321 (17-of-53) from the field and .278 (5-of-18) from beyond the arc.

St. Ambrose (2-5) shot at a .344 clip (21-of-61) overall and .286 (6-of-21) from deep. Much of SAU's offensive struggles came in the opening quarter when the team was just 5-of-18 from the floor (.278) and 2-of-7 from 3-point range (2-of-7). That allowed WPU to build a 21-14 lead after one.

The Statemsen took their largest lead of nine points at 23-14 seconds into the second quarter. Then the Bees came to life.

A Caroline Cool 3-pointer sparked a 14-2 SAU run. Erica Bostwick and Payton Calouette each had four points and Starks hit a three during the spurt that gave the Bees a 28-25 advantage. St. Ambrose took a 32-31 lead into the halftime break.

SAU built a seven-point lead in the third quarter before WPU battled back in the fourth, leading to the Bees' final run.

After trailing 21-14 after one, St. Ambrose outscored William Penn 46-31 over the final three quarters.

Wolter led the Bees with 17 points. She also pulled down seven rebounds and handed out four assists. Bostwick came off the bench to throw in 14 points.

Thole narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. Starks scored seven points and Calouette finished with six. Mary Gruber and Cool each scored three and Olivia Harter added one.

St. Ambrose will return to CCAC action Saturday when the Bees host Holy Cross.