(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State women's basketball team was within one point at halftime, but struggled from the field in the second half as Culver-Stockton pulled away for a 17-point win, 65-48.
The home-standing Wildcats improved to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Peru State, coming off the upset of MidAmerica Nazarene University on Thursday night, fell to 1-6 in the Heart and 4-12 overall.
Game Action After the Wildcats scored the first points of the game,
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) tied it up with a bucket on an assist from
Brittany Harward (Orem, Utah) at the 18:40 mark in the first half. Culver-Stockton would reel off nine straight points and never trailed the rest of the game.
Peru State did manage to keep the game close in the first half as the Wildcats never had a double-digit lead in the first 20 minutes. After Culver-Stockton led 29-23 with 3:09 left in the half,
Heather Brekke (Sunrise, Fla.) hit a field goal to cut the lead to four at 29-25.
With 32 seconds left,
Shelbie Hess completed an old-fashioned three-point play to get the 'Cats back within one at 29-28, which was the halftime score.
While Culver-Stockton never trailed in the second half, Peru State kept it to a single-digit lead until 5:45 remained in the contest when the Wildcats took a 56-46 lead. A bucket by Harward on an assist from Brekke cut it back to eight at 56-48 with 5:33 left.
However, Peru State would not score the rest of the game while the Wildcats would score nine to take the 65-48 win.
Team Statistics Poor shooting again hampered Peru State as they finished the game making 17 of 65 field goal tries for 26.2%. This included making just 3 of 22 three-point attempts, many of those coming late in the game, for 13.6%. The Bobcats did shoot better than the hosts at the charity stripe as they made 11 of 16 for 68.8%.
The Wildcats made 25 of 63 field goals for 39.7% which included making 5 of 16 from long range for 31.3%. At the free throw line, Culver-Stockton hit 10 of 17 for 58.8%.
Peru State did out-rebound the Wildcats as they grabbed 49 compared to 42 for Culver-Stockton. However, the 'Cats did commit more turnovers as they had 21 while the Wildcats committed 15.
Individual Statistics Hess led Peru State with a game-high 17 points and finished the game with a double-double as she grabbed 11 rebounds.
Harward also finished with a double-double as she had 11 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.), Sydney Young (Omaha), and Brekke each dished out two assists.
Rylie Bowser (Holton, Kan.) led the team with three steals while Harward nabbed two.
Harward, Hess, Young, and Brekke were each credited with a blocked shot.
CULVER-STOCKTON GAME BOOK Upcoming Games The Bobcats will have three games this coming week with two of those being at home.
On Monday, Peru State will play a non-conference game with the Grace University Royals beginning at 5 p.m. Currently, the Royals are 2-16 and are a 12-game losing streak. One of those games was when the Bobcats defeated Grace in Omaha 96-68 on Dec. 17.
The 'Cats will travel to Baldwin City, Kan., on Thursday to face Baker University at 5:30 p.m. Presently, the Wildcats are 11-6 overall and 4-3 in the Heart. The Wildcats have a two-game winning streak which includes victories overall Avila University and Evangel University.
Then, on Saturday, Peru State will host Central Methodist University at 2 p.m. The Eagles are 2-5 in conference play and 9-6 overall. Central Methodist fell to MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday.
This week is Coaches vs. Cancer which is sponsored by the National Basketball Coaches Association. Peru State's Student Athlete Advisory Council will be accepting donations for memorial sneakers on Monday and Saturday, as well as, hosting a split-the-pot on Saturday. Saturday's contest will be the Suits and Sneakers game when the coaches will be wearing their Sunday best with the sneakers on their feet.
