(Peru, Neb.) – After trailing by nine heading into the final ten minutes, the Peru State women's basketball team outscored the College of St. Mary (CSM) 24-11 to capture a 74-70 road victory. The game was played at the Lied Center in Omaha Friday night.
 
The Bobcats improved to 2-0 on the young season while the Flames dropped their fourth contest of 2017-18.
 
First Quarter Action
 
A trey by the Flames was countered by a three-pointer for Lauren Beath (Bakersfield, Calif.) to tie the game at the 9:14 mark. CSM made another trey and this time Maddy McPhillips (Omaha) made one off an assist from Jackie Beaugard (Omaha) to knot it again with 8:38 left. Brooke Maeda (Honolulu) would hit a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats an 8-6 lead.

 
CSM got their third-straight three-pointer and would jump out to an 18-10 lead with 6:01 left in the first quarter. Peru State would score six straight to get within two at 18-16, but the Flames would get the final bucket of the quarter to lead 20-16.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
A basket by Abigail Niebrugge (Omaha) was followed by one by Destany Ross (Gretna) and with 8:43 remaining in the half, the 'Cats had tied the game 20-20.
 
There were six ties in the second quarter and five lead changes. The period was tied at 20-20, 22-22, 24-24, 26-26, and 29-29 before the Flames would move out to a 35-31 advantage with under two minutes left in the stanza. Maeda then hit a three and Ross hit a bucket and the Bobcats led 36-35. Beath added a bucket and then with one second left on the clock, CSM would hit a three-pointer to tie it at 38-38 at halftime.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
The Flames scored first in the third quarter and never trailed in the period. CSM built a lead of 11 at 54-43 with 4:25 left in the period. A field goal by Niebrugge and then a three-pointer by Maeda on an assist from McPhillips pulled the 'Cats within six at 54-48 with 3:36 left.
 
The teams would basically trade hoops the rest of the quarter with CSM eventually lead 59-50 after 30 minutes of action.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 

The Bobcats came out and scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take a 61-59 lead with McPhillips draining a trey on an assist from Beaugard with 4:31 left in the game. CSM countered with a trey to regain the lead on their next possession.
 
Beaugard scored a bucket to make it 63-62 with 2:25 remaining and the 'Cats never trailed after that point.
 
The Bobcats had their largest lead of six at 68-62 after Niebrugge made a pair of free throws and again led 70-64 after Maeda made a pair of charity tosses with 43 seconds left. A Flames' trey cut the lead to three at 70-67, but Maeda stepped to the free throw line and drained two more free throws to make it 72-67.
 
Another trey by CSM cut the lead to two at 72-70 with 17 ticks left on the clock. The Flames immediately fouled Niebrugge who stepped to the line and hit another pair of free throws to give the Bobcats a four-point lead. CSM had two three-point attempts that missed and the 'Cats won 74-70.

COLLEGE OF ST MARY GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
The Flames shot the ball better from the floor than Peru State, but the 'Cats were hot at the free throw line. CSM made 27 of 69 field goals for 39.1% and made 12 of 36 from long range for 33.3%. At the charity stripe, the Flames were just four of seven for 57.1%. Peru State made 22 of 58 field goals for 37.9% and made eight of 27 from behind the arc for 29.6%. But, the win came from the free throw line for the Bobcats as they made 22 of 25 for 88%.

 
The taller CSM group pulled down just eight more rebounds as they had 43 compared to 35 for Peru State. The Flames doubled the number of assists on the Bobcats at 18 to 9, but had more turnovers, 16 to 10. CSM blocked three shots while Peru State blocked two. The 'Cats had eight steals while the Flames nabbed five.
 
Individual Statistics
 
For the second-straight game, four Bobcats finished in double figures. Niebrugge led the 'Cats with 19 points while Maeda finished with 16. Ross added 14 while Beaugard finished with ten.
 
Beaugard just missed a double-double as she had nine game-high rebounds. Ross grabbed six while Beath, Maeda, and Niebrugge each finished with five rebounds.
 
Beaugard dished out five assists while Niebrugge handed out two. Beaugard was also credited with the two blocked shots.
 
In addition, Beaugard had a game-high three steals while Beath and Niebrugge each had two.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will travel to Mount Marty (S.D.) Tuesday night to face the Lancers in Yankton at 6 p.m. Mount Marty opened with a 74-48 win over Grace (Neb.) and will play two more games before hosting the Bobcats on Tuesday.
 
On Friday, Nov. 10, the Bobcats will travel to York to play at 8 p.m. The Panthers are 1-1 as they defeated Graceland (Iowa) in their first game and then were pummeled by the College of the Ozarks. They will play two more games before the 'Cats hit the town next Friday.