(Peru, Neb.) – They did what they needed to do to keep their hopes alive for the post-season.
The Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat women's basketball team knew they had to defeat Graceland University (GU) to keep their hopes alive of making it into their first Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) post-season tournament.
While it was a close game throughout, the Bobcats prevailed and stopped the visiting YellowJackets 69-64.
With the win, the 'Cats improved to 5-12 in the HAAC and 5-24 overall. The win put them in ninth, just one game behind Culver-Stockton, Graceland, and Missouri Valley, all of whom are tied at 6-11 in the conference race.
In order to make it into the conference post-season, the Bobcats have to defeat Evangel in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday and have to have Missouri Valley beat Graceland on the YellowJackets' home court. Culver-Stockton is in the tournament and the two berths will be between Graceland, Mo Valley, and PSC. PSC holds the tie-breaker over Graceland having completed the season sweep, but cannot move ahead of Missouri Valley because of their overall season record.
Game Action
Peru State took an early 6-0 lead as Katie Potter
(Omaha) hit a bucket at the 19:23 mark.
Courtney Ward (Bartlesville, Okla.) scored her 1,009th and 1,010
th points on the 'Cats next possession and Potter followed up with another hoop.
The YellowJackets then went on an 8-0 run giving them their first and only lead of the half at 8-6. That lead lasted for just over 60 seconds before
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) nailed a trey putting PSC up for good at 9-8 with 15:26 left in the first half.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the first half with Graceland staying within five points for the next ten minutes before Ward hit a field goal on an assist from Stuart with 5:25 left in the first stanza. PSC lead 23-16 at that point.
The seven-point lead would stand at halftime as the Bobcats were up 29-22.
Graceland came out of the locker room after the halftime break and knotted the game up at 29-29 with 15:36 remaining in the game.
On the Bobcats' next possession, on an assist from Potter, Ward regained the lead for PSC at 31-29. Another bucket by Ward from Potter made it 33-29. The YellowJackets cut it to 33-31, but then
Jasmine Tate (Fayetteville, N.C.) grabbed an offensive rebound, went back up with the ball going in, putting PSC on top 35-31.
A two and a trey by Graceland gave them their only lead of the second half at 36-35 at the 15:04 mark forcing PSC to take a timeout. After the timeout, Sydney Young
(Omaha) got a bucket on the dime from Potter, giving PSC a 37-36 lead, one that would stand for the rest of the game.
PSC stretched the lead to 42-36 before GU battled back to within one at 42-41. But, the one-point deficit would be as close as Graceland would be as the 'Cats held the lead and eventually won 69-64.
Team Statistics
The teams had similar shooting percentages for the game. The Bobcats made 25 of 65 field goal attempts for 38.5%, which included going two of ten for 20% from behind the arc. PSC actually had one of its better nights at the line as they canned 17 of 24 free throws for 70.8%.
Graceland was 36.1% from the floor having made 22 of 61 tries. From three-point range, the YellowJackets were six of 21 for 28.6%. At the charity stripe, GU was 14 of 24 for 58.3%.
The Bobcats out-rebounded GU 41-33. Graceland finished the game with one less turnover than PSC as they had 15 and the 'Cats made 16 miscues.
GAME BOX SCORE
Individual Statistics
Ward followed up an outstanding performance on Saturday with another one on Thursday night. Ward finished with a career- and game-high 28 points. In addition, Ward grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Potter finished in double figures with 17 points. Also, Potter grabbed seven caroms and dished off five assists.
Upcoming Game(s)
As mentioned earlier, the Bobcats will face Evangel University on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
With a win and a Graceland loss on Saturday, the Bobcats would most likely travel to Olathe, Kan., to face MidAmerica Nazarene. The other potential opponent would be Avila. The two teams are presently tied for the league lead; however, MidAmerica swept the regular season games with Avila, so they hold the tie-breaker. This game would be held on Thursday, March 1.
