(Peru, Neb.) – It was all tied up at 42-42 after three quarters in the contest between Mount Mercy and Peru State. The Mustangs ended up outscoring the Bobcats by seven to get a 63-56 win in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on Saturday.
 
Mount Mercy improved to 4-14 overall and 1-6 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. Peru State fell to 3-12 on the year and are winless at 0-7 in conference action.
 
First Quarter Action
 
The 'Cats jumped to an early lead as Lauren Beath (Bakersfield, Calif.) off an assist from Brooke Maeda (Honolulu). The two connected again as Beath drained a trey. Swaranga Fernando (Sri Lanka, Colombo) followed with a field goal and the Bobcats led 7-0 with 7:38 to go in the quarter. The Mustangs would fight back to eventually tie it 9-9 with 2:46 remaining. Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) made one of two free throws before Mount Mercy scored to take their first lead with 2:04 on the clock. Abigail Niebrugge (Omaha) would put the 'Cats back up by one at 12-11 and that would be the end of the first quarter.

 
Second Quarter Action
 
Beath drained a trey to start the second off an assist from Maeda. Consecutive buckets by the Mustangs tied it at 15-15. Mount Mercy would then take the lead with a trey before Beath hit another three-pointer, this time on an assist from Niebrugge to tie it at 18-18 with 5:57 left in the half. The game would be tied four more times in the quarter with Peru State scoring the last bucket of the half by Maeda with three seconds left to lead 31-28 at the break.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
Peru State would lead for most of the third quarter and led by as many as eight after Beth Hall (Graceville, Fla.) hit a trey off an assist by Niebrugge. The 'Cats led 42-34 with 3:40 left in the quarter. By the end of the stanza, the Mustangs had scored eight straight points and it was tied at 42 heading into the final frame.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 
A bucket by Cudney started the final quarter and the 'Cats led until Mount Mercy tied it at 49-49 with 4:43 left. Maeda would put the Bobcats back in the lead with a trey off an assist from Niebrugge. The Mustangs would then score six straight points to take the lead and never trailed after that time.

MOUNT MERCY GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Mount Mercy shot better than the Bobcats in all three categories. The Mustangs made 22 of 50 field goal tries for 44% and hit 5 of 18 from long range for 27.8%. At the charity stripe, Mount Mercy made 14 of 19 for 73.7% which proved to be the winning part of the game. Peru State made also made 22 field goals, but took 65 shots for 33.8%. They were 6 of 23 from behind the arc for 26.1%. The Bobcats only had ten free throw attempts and hit six for 60%.

 
The rebounding was nearly even as the Mustangs grabbed 34 compared to 33 for Peru State. Mount Mercy had 15 assists while the 'Cats finished with 13.
 
Peru State blocked three shots compared to one for the Mustangs. The Bobcats added six steals compared to four for Mount Mercy.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Three Bobcats finished in double figures with Beath finishing with 17 points with Cudney finished with 13. Niebrugge added ten.
 
Fernando led all rebounders with 12 boards while Cudney nearly finished with a double double as she grabbed nine. Niebrugge had seven rebounds.
 
Maeda and Niebrugge each dished out four assists while Fernando had two. Cudney blocked two shots while Niebrugge had one. Niebrugge had a game-high three steals.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will be on the road Wednesday night when they travel to Canton, Mo., to face Culver-Stockton at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats are 7-9 on the year and are 2-5 in the Heart North. Culver-Stockton has lost four straight conference games.
 
Next Saturday, Jan. 20, the Bobcats will host Evangel (Mo.) at 2 p.m. The Crusaders are 2-14 overall and are 1-6 in the Heart South. They have lost three in a row.