After being down by only one at halftime, the Peru State women's basketball team was outscored by ten in the second half and fell to Park University 71-60 on Thursday night. The game between the Bobcats and Pirates was played in Parkville, Mo.
With the win, the Pirates improved to 2-3 on the season while the 'Cats fell to 1-3.
After the Pirates hit the first bucket of the game to lead 2-0, Peru State countered when a three by
MaKayla Gardner (Dickens) on an assist from
Jasmine Tate (Fayetteville, N.C.) with 18:38 left in the first half.
The teams traded buckets with Peru State having its last lead in the first half at 10-9 after
Shelbie Hess (Phoenix, Ariz.) hit a basket off a Park turnover with 14:08 remaining. Two free throws later, Park took the lead and never trailed the rest of the first 20 minutes.
With 7:08 left in the first half, the Pirates had built a 14-point lead at 28-14 before the Bobcats went on a 19-6 run to end the half. With two seconds on the clock,
Brittany Peterson (Orem, Utah) grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to make it 34-33 at halftime.
Second Half Action
For the first five minutes of the second half, the teams had trouble making baskets. With 14:50 left in the game, Hess hit a three-pointer to tie it at 38-38.
After being tied by the Bobcats, Park went on an 11-1 run to its largest lead at that point of the second half at 49-39 with 11:11 left in the game.
Peru State would get within three points twice later in the half at 57-54 and 59-56 before the Pirates eventually pulled away for the 11-point win.
Team Statistics
Neither team shot particularly well as Park made 20 of 58 field goals for 34.5% while the Bobcats were slightly better making 19 of 54 shots for 35.2%. While both teams made five three-pointers, it was key for Park as they had only hit three treys coming into the game on the season. The biggest difference in the game came at the free throw line as Park made 26 of 45 attempts for 57.8% while the 'Cats hit 17 of 25 for 68%.
Peru State won the rebounding war 44-42 but committing 27 turnovers compared to only 17 for the Pirates. The Bobcats blocked a season-high seven shots while Park swatted away four Peru State field goal attempts.
Individual Statistics
Three Bobcats finished in double figures as
Sydney Young (Omaha) led the team with 17 points, including going 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Hess added 15 points and eight rebounds. Peterson added ten points on 5 of 7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
Gardner led the team in rebounding with a game-high 11 boards. Tate dished out a team-high three assists.
Gardner had a game-high and career-high three blocks while
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) blocked two Pirate shots.
PARK BOX SCORE
Upcoming Games
Peru State will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 24, when they host the Bees of St. Ambrose University with the game beginning at 2 p.m. Currently, St. Ambrose is 4-1 and will play Missouri Valley College on Saturday night before heading to Peru State.
The following Sunday, the Bobcats will travel across the state of Iowa to face the Bees for a second time, this time in Davenport, Iowa, with the game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
