(Peru, Neb.) – When your tallest player is 5-9 and the other team has several over 6 foot tall, it makes for a tough challenge, no matter whose team it is on the court. Unfortunately for the Peru State women's basketball team, that was the case Saturday afternoon as they faced William Penn University in the Al Wheeler Activity Center.
The Statesmen won the season series with a 78-51 win over Peru State. With the win, William Penn improved to 10-11 overall and evened their Heart of America Athletic Conference mark at 7-7. The 'Cats fell to 5-17 overall and 2-12 in the Heart.
First Quarter ActionJackie Beaugard (Omaha) scored the first points of the game off an assist from
Justice Daniel (Olathe, Kan.) to give Peru State its only lead of the first quarter. The Statesmen would hit back-to-back treys to go up 6-2 which was countered by a trey from
Madara Laure (Riga, Latvia) on an assist from
Sydney Wilkinson (St. Joseph, Mo.). A William Penn 10-0 run would put the Statesmen up 16-5 with 4:32 left in the first ten minutes. William Penn would stretch their lead to 12 at 23-11 before a three-pointer by
Jackie Robles (Parlier, Calif.) off an assist from Beaugard made it 23-14. A
Rashaun Casey (Rogers, Ark.) free throw would end the first quarter scoring with Peru State trailing 23-15.
Jackie Beaugard shoots over the out-stretched hands of a
William Penn defender. Beaugard finished with 12 points
and 11 rebounds
Second Quarter ActionCasey would hit a trey to start the second quarter to cut the lead to five coming on an assist from Wilkinson. William Penn would still have an eight-point advantage at 33-25 before the Bobcats would go on a run. Casey would start the run with a trey off an assist from Laure and later Laure would dish off another assist, this time to Robles who hit a trey. At that point, Peru State was down 33-31 with 2:55 left in the first half. Daniel would next get a bucket and the score was tied at 33-33 with 2:46 remaining. After a Laure steal, Beaugard put the Bobcats on top 35-33. Unfortunately, Peru State would not score the remainder of the stanza and the Statesmen led 41-35 at halftime.
Third Quarter ActionWilliam Penn would score the first eight points of the second half to lead 49-35 before Beaugard would make a pair of free throws at the 4:51 mark. The 12-point deficit would be as close as Peru State would be in the quarter as the Statesmen led 61-41 after three periods.
Fourth Quarter ActionIn the fourth quarter, William Penn scored the first nine points and had the game in control 70-41 with 3:56 left in the game. Laure would end up scoring eight of Peru State's ten points in the stanza.
WILLIAM PENN GAME BOOKTeam StatisticsThe Statesmen shot well from the floor with many of buckets coming from very close range. William Penn made 31 of 60 field goals for 51.7% which included making 6 of 21 from long range for 28.6%. At the free throw line, William Penn was 10 of 15 for 66.7%. Peru State made 18 of 61 field goals for 29.5% and actually was a hair better from long range making 8 of 27 for 29.6%. The Bobcats struggled at the free throw line making just 7 of 16 for 43.8%.
Madara Laure scored eight of Peru State's ten points
in the final quarter. Laure led the Bobcats
with 15 points.William Penn had a huge rebounding edge as the Statesmen grabbed 46 rebounds compared to the Bobcats' 24. The Statesmen dished out 15 assists while Peru State had 11. Both teams had 19 turnovers. William Penn had one blocked shot. The 'Cats had a slight edge in steals as they nabbed 11 while William Penn had ten.
Individual StatisticsLaure and Beaugard finished in double figures for Peru State with Laure leading the way with 15 points. Beaugard added 12 points. Robles was one point shy of double figures as she added nine.
Beaugard finished with a double-double as she grabbed a game-high 11 boards. Daniel and Wilkinson each added three rebounds.
Laure, Beaugard, and Wilkinson each dished out three assists. Laure had a game-high five steals while Wilkinson added four.
Upcoming GamesMother Nature permitting, Peru State will travel to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. contest. The Yellowjackets are struggling this season and are 1-18 overall and have yet to win a conference game. The 'Cats defeated Graceland at home in December 103-75.
On Saturday, the Bobcats will be back in the AWAC when they host Culver-Stockton College at 2 p.m. The Wildcats are 17-5 and 10-4 in the Heart having won on Saturday at Grand View.
