(Peru, Neb.) – The Bobcat women's basketball team gained their first win of the 2014-15 season as they topped future Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent Grand View University on Monday night in Des Moines. Peru State only trailed once in the game on the way to a 72-56 victory over the Vikings.
With the win, the 'Cats improve to 1-3 on the season while Grand View drops to 1-5.
Game Action A basket by
Shelbie Hess (Phoenix) off the opening tip gave Peru State the lead to start the game. Hess then stole the ball and
Sydney Young (Omaha) scored in the paint to make it 4-0 with 19:19 left in the first half.
Karlee Stuart led all scorers with 26
points and had a game-high 15
rebounds A trey by the Vikings cut the lead to 4-3 before
Brittany Harward (Orem, Utah) made a layup on an assist from
Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.) at the 17:26 mark.
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) grabbed her own offensive rebound and put it back in to give Peru State an 8-3 lead.
Brianna Madrid (Glendale, Ariz.) hit one of two free throws with 15:51 to go in the half to give the 'Cats their largest lead at that point of six points at 9-3. The Vikings stormed back to tie it at 9-9 before Madrid hit a lay-up to put Peru State back on top with 13:26 remaining in the first 20 minutes.
Grand View's only lead in the game came at 22-21 with just under five minutes left in the half. A pair of free throws by
Madison Peterson (West Valley, Utah) gave the Bobcats the lead again, one they would not relinquish with 3:56 to go in the first half.
A layup by Madrid on an assist from Wilkinson ended the first half with Peru State leading 31-26.
In the second half at the 17:41 mark, Wilkinson hit a jumper to give the Bobcats their first double-digit lead at 39-29. Grand View would get back within four at 47-43 with 11:16 to go in the game, but a trey by Young quickly extended the Bobcat lead to seven at 50-43.
With less than three minutes to go, Peru State had its largest lead at that point of 16 at 66-50 after Stuart hit a jumper. A pair of three-pointers pulled the Vikings back to a ten-point deficit, but three buckets by Stuart, all in the paint, helped give the Bobcats the 72-56 victory.
Team Statistics Peru State made 27 of 74 field goals for 36.5%, but was cold from three-point range as they only hit two of 18 for 11.1%. The Bobcats had their best night of the season at the free throw line as they made 16 of 20 for 80%.
Grand View connected on 20 of 63 field goals for 31.7%, including 8 of 22 three-pointers for 36.4%. The Vikings were 8 of 14 at the charity stripe for 57.1%.
Madison Peterson was also in double figures in scoring
as she added ten points for Peru StateThe 'Cats held a big rebounding edge as they grabbed 52 boards compared to Grand View's 32. Both teams had a high number of turnovers with the Vikings having 21 and Peru State finishing with 18.
Individual Statistics All nine Bobcats playing in the contest scored. Stuart led all scorers with 26 points with Peterson adding ten.
Stuart finished with a double-double as she also had a game-high 15 rebounds – ten of them defensive. Harward also was in double-digits with rebounds as she grabbed ten.
Wilkinson had a good game at the point as she dished out six assists and was good defensively, too, as she had seven steals – both of which were game-highs. Hess added four steals.
Peterson and Madrid each blocked one shot.
GRAND VIEW BOX SCORE Upcoming Games Peru State will be back in action on Wednesday night when they look to avenge an earlier loss in the season. The Bobcats will be hosting Dordt College at 6 p.m. Last week, the Defenders topped the Bobcats 89-87 in Sioux Center, Iowa. Presently, Dordt is now 4-2 on the season as they dropped their last contest to Midland University.
Next Monday, Nov. 24, the 'Cats will travel to Omaha to take on the College of St. Mary (CSM) at 6 p.m. Presently, the Flames are off to a hot start as they are 6-0. CSM was preseason ranked eighth in NAIA DII after going 27-6 last season.
