For the second game in a row, a late run by the opposition has been the demise of the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat women's basketball team.
On Thursday night, the Bobcats had a 55-49 lead with 3:22 left on the clock, but failed to score in the final time remaining. On the other hand, the Baker when caught life from behind the arc hitting two treys in a row and scoring 13 points total to capture the win, 62-55.
It was the sixth win in a row for the Wildcats who improved to 10-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference – good for third in the ten-team league. Overall, the Wildcats are 17-8.
Peru State suffered its second-straight loss and fell to 11-14 overall and 6-7 in the HAAC. The Bobcats remained in a tie for fifth with Culver-Stockton College with five games remaining in the regular season.
Game Action
The game was tight throughout the first half with Baker having the largest lead of four points early in the game at 6-2 with just over three minutes being played.
Peru State's largest lead came after
Ayana Smith (Colorado Springs) hit a jumper in the paint with 10:10 left making it 15-12 PSC.
At the end of the first half, the Bobcats had a 27-26 lead as Smith hit a bucket on an assist from
Natasha Moss (Indianapolis) with 52 ticks left in the half.
In the second half, it was a similar type of play with the game being tied seven different times. Just when it appeared Baker might start to pull away having taken a 47-42 advantage with less than ten minutes left in the game, PSC rallied.
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) hit a three-pointer on an assist from
Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.) to cut the lead to two with 7:27 left in the game. On the next Wildcats' possession,
Adaugo Osuala (Lakewood, Colo.) grabbed a steal and drove down the court for a lay-up to tie the game at 47-47 with 7:15 to go.
The Bobcats would then appear to be in control as they rattled off the next seven points to go on top 54-47. Two Baker free throws made it 54-49 with 4:17 left.
Courtney Ward (Bartlesville, Okla.) would hit one of two free throws to score what would be PSC's final point of the game making it 55-49 with 3:22 remaining, forcing Baker to take a timeout.
Over the course of the next three minutes, Baker would be hot and PSC would be plagued by turnovers and would only get off two shots during the period, thus giving Baker the win.
Team Statistics
The teams hit an identical 33.3% of their field goal attempts, but the difference in the field goal shooting was from behind the three-point line. Baker made six of 19 tries for 31.6% while PSC only made two of 11 of 18.2%. The biggest difference in shooting came from the free-throw line as the Wildcats connected on 18 of 22 attempts for 81.8%, compared to PSC's dismal seven of 20 for 35%.
The Bobcats grabbed one more rebound than the Wildcats, 39-38. Both teams' defensive styles forced each team into numerous turnovers with Baker committing 21 while PSC had two fewer with 19.
Individual Statistics
Two Bobcats finished in double figures with Osuala leading the way with 14 points. In addition, Osuala finished with a double double as she had 11 steals.
Jasmine Lockwood (Sunrise, Fla.) finished with 12 points on six of ten shooting and added seven rebounds.
Ward, who sat for the last ten minutes of the first half, having picked up her third foul, finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and added six points.
BAKER BOX SCORE
Ward Career Watch
When Ward hit her first bucket of the game at the 15:30 mark, it moved her solely into fourth place in the Bobcats' all-time career scoring list. The bucket moved Ward ahead of PSC Hall of Famer Lora (White) Gulley, who had scored 1,416 points playing in 1991-1994. Ward finished the night with 1.422 points and will likely move into third by the end of the season.
Upcoming Games
Saturday, Feb. 9, the Bobcats will be on the road to take on the Missouri Valley College Vikings in Marshal, Mo., with the game scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Peru State defeated the Vikings at home earlier in the season and will look to break their two-game losing streak while Mo Valley looks to stop their four-game losing streak. The Vikings lost to Evangel University on Thursday and are ninth in the HAAC with a 3-10 record and are 6-19 overall.
Peru State will go on the road on Valentine's Day as they travel to Atchison, Kan., to face the Ravens of Benedictine College. Presently, the Ravens are on a nine-game winning streak and are tied for the conference lead with a 12-1 mark and are 22-3 overall. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Feb. 16, PSC will return home for one of its two remaining home games to host the Avila University Eagles at 2 p.m. The Eagles are currently eighth in the HAAC with a 4-9 mark. On the 16
th, Gary's Tumbling will be performing during the halftime of each of the two games.
