(Peru, Neb.) – Claire Cudney's (Marysville, Kan.) team-high 20 points and Swaranga Fernando's (Colombo, Sri Lanka) game-high 20 rebounds were not enough for the Peru State women's basketball team Wednesday night. The Bobcats fell in Canton, Mo., to Culver-Stockton (C-SC) by the score of 68-52.
 
The Wildcats improved to 8-9 on the season and 3-5 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) South Division. Peru State fell to 3-14 on the year and are still winless in the Heart North at 0-8.
 
First Quarter Action

 
Abigail Niebrugge (Omaha) hit the game's opening hoop to put Peru State up 2-0 with 35 seconds off the clock in the first quarter. After the Wildcats tied it up, Niebrugge hit another bucket. After another tie, Cudney scored her first two points of the game and then Lauren Beath (Bakersfield, Calif.) gave Peru State a four-point lead with 4:57 left in the quarter. Culver-Stockton then hit a trey to pull within one before Fernando hit a bucket in the paint on an assist from Beath to make it 10-7 with just over two minutes left in the stanza. The Wildcats would cut the lead to one with just six seconds left in the quarter to make it 10-9 Peru State.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
Peru State would have a four-point lead at 15-11 after Beath hit a two-pointer with 7:42 on the clock. The Wildcats would then go on a nine-point run and never trailed the rest of the contest. The Bobcats would pull back within one at 20-19 when Cudney hit a two-pointer, but that is as close as Peru State would get as Culver-Stockton scored six points to lead 26-19 after 20 minutes.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
Beath scored the first two points of the second half before Culver-Stockton scored five points to extend their lead to ten at 31-21. The Wildcats led by as many as 13 at 45-32 with 57 seconds left. Fernando hit a bucket with 18 seconds left on an assist from Brooke Maeda (Honolulu) to cut the lead to 11 at 45-34 to end the quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 
Culver-Stockton would extend its lead to as many as 24 at 68-44 with 1:42 left in the game. The Bobcats would score the final seven points of the contest with Cudney finishing the game with a pair of free throws.

CULVER-STOCKTON GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 

Peru State has continued to improve its field goal shooting, but still was not quite as good as their opponents. The Bobcats made 20 of 57 field goals for 35.1%, but really struggled from behind the arc as they made just 3 of 16 for 18.8%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats made 9 of 14 for 64.3%. The Wildcats connected on 30 of 73 field goals for 41.1% and made 5 of 14 from long range for 35.7%. At the charity stripe, C-SC hit three of five for 60%.
 
Culver-Stockton had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 45 boards compared to 40 for Peru State. The Wildcats finished with 17 assists while the Bobcats had ten.
 
The Wildcats committed 12 turnovers compared to 18 for the Bobcats. Peru State had one blocked shot while C-SC had two. Culver-Stockton finished with 11 steals while the Bobcats had six.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Cudney led the Bobcats with 20 points while Beath finished with 16. Fernando was also in double figures as she had ten points.
 
Fernando had a Heart season-high 20 rebounds – 17 of which were defensive – another top mark for the Heart. Cudney added seven boards.
 
Maeda had a team-high four assists with Beath dishing out two. Fernando was credited with the blocked shot. Maeda also led the team with three steals while Cudney grabbed two.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will be at home on Saturday before being on the road for both games next week. The Bobcats will be hosting Evangel (Mo.) at 2 p.m. this Saturday. The Crusaders are 2-15 overall and are 1-7 in the Heart South. Evangel has lost its last four contests.
 
Next Wednesday, the Bobcats will be on the road when they head to Dubuque, Iowa, to face Clarke at 5:30 p.m. The Pride improved to 12-5 last night with a win over ranked Baker. Clarke is 4-3 in the Heart North.