(Peru, Neb.) – Dave Brock, the Bobcats' play-by-play announcer, said it best following the game, “The Bobcats survived to win over Graceland.”   The Peru State women won Monday night in a rescheduled game in Lamoni, Iowa, 65-61.
 
While Peru State was playing for a higher seed, the Graceland University YellowJackets were playing for pride on their senior night as they were looking for their first Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) win.  The Bobcats spoiled it for the 'Jackets by scoring the final four points of the game.
 
In the HAAC, Peru State improved to .500 with a 9-9 mark and are now 14-16 overall.  Graceland finished winless in the HAAC at 0-18 and was 2-24 for the season.  
Game Action
 
Courtney Ward (Bartlesville, Okla.) scored the first two points of the game when she hit two free throws.  Then, Ward followed with another bucket to put PSC up 4-0 with just 47 seconds gone in the game.
 
Graceland then went on an 8-0 run to lead 8-4 at the 16:00 mark before Ward and Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) hit back-to-back buckets to knot it up with 14:51 remaining in the first half.  After another tie at 10-10, the 'Cats went on a 14-3 run to take an 11-point advantage at 24-13 with 7:40 left in the first 20 minutes.  With 4:19 left in the first stanza, Peru State had its largest lead of the game at 29-17 before Graceland closed the gap to 32-27 at the half.
 
The YellowJackets kept the game close throughout the second half as Peru State never led by more than six.  With 10 minutes left in the game, Graceland had tied it up at 47-47 before the Bobcats again moved to a six-point advantage.  The 'Jackets took their first lead with just over five minutes left at 56-55.  The teams would be tied at 58-58, 59-59, and 61-61, the final tie with 70 seconds left in the game. 
 
After a Graceland turnover, Adaugo Osuala (Lakewood, Colo.) drove to the bucket to put Peru State on top for good at 63-61.  The YellowJackets would get two more shots at the basket, but would miss and Jasmine Tate (Fayetteville, Okla.) salted away the game for Peru State by hitting two free throw with six seconds left.  
Team Statistics
 
Graceland shot better than Peru State in all categories.  The YellowJackets were 21 of 57 from the floor for 36.8%, which included five of 23 shooting from behind the arc for 21.7%.  At the free throw line, Graceland was 14 of 21 for 66.7%.  The Bobcats made 23 of 70 field goals for 32.9% while making three of 14 from three-point range for 21.4%.  At the charity stripe, Peru State was 16 of 30 for 53.3%.
 
The YellowJackets outrebounded Peru State 50-45, but committed 25 turnovers, compared to the Bobcats' 16. 
 
Individual Statistics
 
Osuala led all scorers with 23 points and nabbed four steals to add to her nation-leading total, now standing at 129.  
Ward had her 19^th double double of the year finishing with 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  Ward also dished out a game-high three assists.
 
Stuart finished in double figures with a season-high ten rebounds and added six points.

GRACELAND BOX SCORE
 
Record Watch
 
After hitting the second bucket of the game, Ward moved into third all-time in Bobcat career scoring and finished the game with 1,484 points.  Ward moved into third ahead of Celeste Nolte, who played in 1996-99, and finished her career with 1,468 points.
 
Upcoming Games
 
By virtue of its win, the Bobcats earned the fifth seed in the HAAC post-season tournament.  Peru State will travel to fourth-seeded Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., on Thursday, Feb. 28, for a quarterfinal game that will begin at 7 p.m.
 
With a win, Peru State would play again on Saturday night against either top-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene University or eighth-seeded Missouri Valley.
 
The HAAC finals will be held on Tuesday night at the highest-seed remaining home site.