(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State women's basketball team was on a mission Tuesday night and they accomplished it. The Bobcats were looking for their first win and they picked up the win with a victory over Grace 69-56 in Omaha.
 
With the win, Peru State improves to 1-5 overall while the Royals fell to 3-8.

 
First Quarter Action
 
Jackie Robles (Parlier, Calif.) put the Bobcats on the board with a bucket with 7:38 to go in the first quarter. Another Jackie, this time Jackie Beaugard (Omaha) scored the next basket after Robles had stolen the ball and Peru State was up 4-0. Madara Laure (Riga, Latvia) drained a trey on an assist from Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.) and the 'Cats were up 7-0 with 6:04 left in the first. Later in the quarter, Peru State had its largest lead of nine at 17-8 after Rashaun Casey (Rogers, Ark.) made a pair of free throws with 1:41 remaining. At the end of the quarter, the Bobcats led 17-10.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
The Royals went on a 7-0 run to start the second stanza and tied it up at 17-17 with 7:50 to go in the period. Kiley Guerue (Morrill) put Peru State back on top with a pair of free throws at 19-17 just 21 seconds later. At the 6:19 mark in the quarter, the Royals took their first lead with a three-pointer to go on top 20-19. With an old-fashioned three-point play, Grace claimed its largest lead of the game at 23-19 with 5:54 left in the half. Robles hit a pair of free throws which was followed by Laure hitting a bucket off an assist by Beaugard to tie it at 23-23 with 4:50 remaining in the second. Beaugard would put the 'Cats on top for good with one of two free throws. Then, Kealy Ensminger (Homer) drained a trey off an assist from Beaugard and the Bobcats led 27-23 with 2:58 left in the half. Peru State would go on to extend its lead to 35-24 at halftime.

 
Third Quarter Action
 
Wilkinson started the second half with a pair of free throws with 8:47 left in the quarter. The Bobcats would build slightly on their lead and led by 16 at 53-37 as Justice Daniel (Olathe, Kan.) made one of two free throws near the end of the quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 
With 7:43 left in the quarter, Ensminger hit another three to give Peru State a 20-point lead at 61-41. That would prove to be the largest lead of the game which was matched two minutes later after Beaugard hit another bucket off an assist from Daniel. Grace would chip away at the lead, but only got as close as the final score as a basket was made as the horn sounded.

GRACE BOX SCORE
 
Team Statistics
 

The teams had almost identical shooting percentages in all phases. Neither team shot the ball well from the floor as Peru State made 23 of 75 for 30.7% while the Royals were 19 of 62 for 30.6%. The 'Cats were slightly better from long range making 9 of 32 for 28.1% while Grace made 3 of 11 for 27.3%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats were 14 of 18 for 77.8% with Grace making 15 of 19 for 78.9%.
 
With a lot of missed shots, there were lots of rebounds with Grace holding the edge 54 to 46. Both teams were sloppy with the ball as the Royals had 36 turnovers with Peru State having 22. Grace blocked nine Peru State shots while the Bobcats finished with three. Perhaps the most-telling sign for the Bobcats was the fact that they had 25 steals compared to the Royals nabbing ten.
 
Individual Statistics
Beaugard led Peru State with 13 points while Ensmingerand Robles each added 11. For Beaugard and Ensminger, these were new career-high totals. Laure just missed double-digit scoring as she finished with nine.
 
Beaugard led Peru State with eight rebounds while Robles added six. Wilkinson and Ensminger each grabbed five.
 
Beaugard also led the Bobcats with eight assists with Daniel finishing with three. Wilkinson and Beaugard each were credited with five steals. Beaugard blocked two shots with Robles credited with one.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will host a game on Saturday after Black Friday. Kansas Wesleyan will be at the AWAC at 2 p.m. Currently, the Coyotes are 7-2 having topped Oklahoma Wesleyan 83-76 Tuesday night.
 
Then, next Wednesday, the Bobcats will host Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets are now 1-5 having topped York Tuesday night 96-66 on Graceland's home court. Graceland will play William Jewell on Black Friday prior to coming to Peru State next week.
 
At halftime of the Graceland game, Peru State will recognize the Johnson-Brock NSAA DI Volleyball Championship Team.