(Peru, Neb.) – After closing the gap to two in the fourth quarter, the Peru State women's basketball team could not pull off a final upset in their last game of the year.
 
The Clarke Pride ended up pulling away from the 'Cats late in the fourth quarter to win 69-57.
 
Clarke finished its regular season with a 20-10 season mark and 14-10 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). The Pride could have the fourth seed in the upcoming post-season tournament. Peru State's season ended with a 4-24 record and 3-21 in conference action.

 
First Quarter Action
 
The Pride scored the first four points of the game before Claire Cudney (Marysville, Kan.) hit a bucket on an assist from Alyssa Marsh-Contreras (Omaha) to get on the board at the 9:01 mark. Brooke Maeda (Honolulu) would follow to tie the score at 4-4. The Bobcats would keep the game within single digits at the end of the quarter as Clarke would lead 22-14.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
Clarke would hit a trey to extend their lead to double digits to begin the second stanza. The Pride would eventually lead by as many as 19 at 35-16 with 2:25 left in the half. A bucket by Maeda was followed by a hoop by Jordan Salas (Winfield, Kan.) to cut the deficit to 15. With 22 seconds left, Maria Alcantara (Recife, Brazil) hit a hoop to make the halftime score 35-22 in favor of Clarke.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
A basket by Cudney would start the scoring in the second half for Peru State. With 4:35 left in the third period, a three-pointer by Allison Tichy (Bellevue) on an assist from Maeda pulled the 'Cats to back within single digits at 41-32.
 
After the Pride had built their lead back to 13 at 47-34, Peru State made a late third-quarter rally. Marsh-Contreras would score a bucket and then would dish an assist to Giovanna Silva (Brazilia, Brazil) to make it 47-38. Silva would then dish off to Cudney who scored the final points of the quarter to pull Peru State within seven at the end of 30 minutes at 47-40.
 
Fourth Quarter Action

 
Cudney would start the fourth quarter with a bucket off an assist from Marsh-Contreras who then drained a trey to make the score 47-42 with 8:55 left in the game. That would be as close as the Bobcats would get as the Pride would eventually lead by as many as 14 late in the contest at 69-55. Beth Hall (Graceville, Fla.) would score Peru State's final points of the 2018-19 season.
 
CLARKE GAME BOOK

Team Statistics
 
Both team shot the ball well in the game. Clarke made 25 of 55 field goals for 45.5% which included hitting 5 of 16 from long range for 31.3%. The Pride made 14 of 22 free throws for 63.6%. Peru State made 25 of 60 field goal attempts for 41.7% while also making 3 of 11 from behind the arc for 27.3%. The Bobcats were only able to get to the foul line five times and made four for 80% as there was a big disparity in the number of fouls called.
 
The Pride had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 33 boards compared to 29 for Peru State. Clarke finished with 15 assists while the 'Cats finished with nine. Both teams had challenges handling the ball as the Pride finished with 24 miscues and Peru State finished with 21.
 
Clarke blocked three shots compared to two for the Bobcats. The 'Cats finished with 15 steals while Clarke had 12 nabs.
 
Peru Player Statistics
 
Three Bobcats finished in double digits in scoring and were led by Marsh-Contreras who scored a game-high 21 points. Cudney added 11 with Silva finishing with ten.

 
Cudney had a team-high seven rebounds while Silva added six. Alcantara also grabbed five boards.
 
Maeda and Marsh-Contreras each dished out three assists while Cudney was credited with two. Anjanea Simms (St. Louis, Mo.) and Salas were each credited with one block each. Marsh-Contreras had a game-high five steals with Silva and Maeda each nabbing three. Simms finished with two steals.
 
Season Completed
 
Peru State finished the season with one more win than they garnered during the 2017-18 campaign. However, they did get three Heart wins which was a bigger accomplishment after finishing last year with no conference wins.