(Peru, Neb.) – A 19-5 run by Graceland University to close the game gave the Yellowjackets a 77-72 victory over Peru State Thursday night in Peru.
With the win, Graceland improved to 8-14 overall and 5-9 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Peru State falls to 7-17 on the season and 3-10 in conference play. A Bobcat win could have moved them from ninth to sixth in the Heart. But, instead, the 'Cats are still in ninth after the loss.
Karlee Stuart hits a trey to start
Peru State's scoring. Stuart led
the Bobcats with 17 points. Game Summary It was a game of runs for both teams as there were 12 lead changes with Graceland leading by as many as ten at one point and Peru State led by nine late in the game.
The Yellowjackets scored the first seven points before a trey by
Karlee Stuart (Las Animas, Colo.) on an assist from
Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.) at the 16:45 mark in the first half.
Later, after Graceland had moved out to a 15-7 lead with 13:40 to go in the half, the 'Cats scored the next 11 points. The last bucket came on a hoop by Breanna Madrid
(Glendale, Ariz.) off an assist from
Sydney Young (Omaha) with just under ten minutes left in the half.
The game would eventually be tied at 19-19, 24-24, 31-31, and 33-33 before Graceland would outscore the 'Cats 4-1 to take a 37-34 cushion at the intermission.
Graceland would start the second half just like they started the first by scoring seven points to take their largest lead of the game at 44-34 with three minutes gone in the second 20 minutes.
A bucket by
Shelbie Hess (Phoenix) on an assist from
Rylie Bowser (Holton, Kan.) cut the deficit to eight, but Graceland responded with a hoop of their own to go back up by ten.
Shelbie Hess shoots near the end of the game. Hess finished with
13 points and 11 rebounds. After trailing 46-36, the Bobcats went on an impressive run of their own as they scored 17 unanswered points. Wilkinson started the run with a bucket on an assist from Bowser and a Young trey on another assist from Bowser at the end of the run had put Peru State up 53-46 with 11:48 left in the game.
Graceland would come back to eventually tie it up at 55-55 and 57-57 before the Bobcats would go on another run. Peru State would take a 67-58 lead after
Brittany Harward (Orem, Utah) hit a bucket in the pain on a feed from Bowser with 4:05 left in the game.
It was at that point that Graceland caught fire again and ended the game with 19-5 run to squelch the Bobcats' hope of moving up in the league standings.
Team Statistics Peru State made 24 of 56 field goal attempts for 42.9% which included hitting 8 of 21 three-point tries for 38.1%. At the free throw line, the 'Cats were 16 of 21 for 76.2%.
The Yellowjackets hit 26 of 69 field goal tries for 37.7% and made 7 of 17 three-point attempts for 41.2%. Graceland was deadly at the free throw line as they made 18 of 22 for 81.8%.
The Bobcats did hold the rebounding edge as they grabbed 42 boards compared to Graceland's 33. The big difference in the game was that Peru State was whistled for 26 turnovers while Graceland committed only 14.
Individual Statistics 
Brittany Harward puts up a left-handed shot for two
points. Harward finished the game with 12 points.Five Bobcats finished in double figures with Stuart leading the way with 17 points. Young and Madrid each had 14 points. Hess added 13 with Harward finishing with 12.
Stuart and Hess both finished with double-doubles as Hess had a game-high 11 rebounds with Stuart grabbing ten.
Bowser led Peru State with nine assists while Stuart and Hess each dished out three. Six Bobcats each had one steal with Harward being credited for one block.
GRACELAND GAME BOOK Upcoming Games Peru State will play at home on Valentine's Day as they host Missouri Valley College at 2 p.m. The Vikings are 12-10 overall and 8-5 in the conference and won Thursday night over Avila.
Next Thursday the Bobcats will be traveling to Olathe, Kan., when they face the league-leading MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers. The Pioneers are 13
th-ranked in the country and have won seven straight. MidAmerica Nazarene is 19-5 on the season and 12-1 in conference play. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The 'Cats will be back home on Saturday, Feb. 21, when they host Culver-Stockton College. The Wildcats are 9-4 in the conference at this time and 17-6 overall.
