St. Ambrose was outscored 26-18 in the fourth quarter to lose for the first time this season, a 68-61 setback to William Penn on the first day of the Grand View Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday.

The Bees entered the final frame with a 43-42 lead but couldn't get enough stops down the stretch. William Penn shot 8-of-13 from the field, including a 2-of-4 mark from 3-point range, over the final 10 minutes to pull away for the win.

After Kylie Wroblewski opened the fourth with a basket to extend the SAU lead to 45-42, William Penn responded with five straight points to take the lead for good.

The Bees were within a single possession several times over the last few minutes. A Jaynee Prestegaard layup trimmed the deficit to 52-51 with four minutes left. The Statesmen came back with seven straight points to extend to a 59-51 lead.

St. Ambrose made a final push. Caitlyn Thole knocked down a three and then stole a pass and raced down for a layup to get the Bees within 59-56 with just under two minutes left.

SAU got a stop but a turnover handed the ball right back to WPU. The Statesmen scored on their next possession and after Anna Plumer misfired on a 3-point attempt with a minute remaining, William Penn hit 7-of-8 from the line to hold off any final comeback hopes.

The fourth quarter overshadowed a strong St. Ambrose start. Behind the post play of Prestegaard (3-of-3, six points) and Wroblewski (2-of-3, five points), the Bees led 17-8 after one quarter. The lead was at 11 points early in the second before a late WPU run closed the gap to 27-24 at the half, setting up the late Statesmen push.

Wroblewski finished with a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Prestegaard ended with 12 points and blocked three shots. Thole (nine points), Abby Wolter (seven) and Caroline Cool (six) combined for 22 points off the Bee bench.

St. Ambrose will face host Grand View Saturday at 4 p.m.