(Peru, Neb.)—On Saturday afternoon the Peru State women's basketball team fell to No. 15 Central Methodist 79-67. The Bobcats fall to 8-13 overall and 3-9 in the Heart (North). The Eagles improve to 19-4 and 9-4 in the Heart (South).
In the first quarter of action the Bobcats kept it close with the Eagles trading buckets and the Eagles would have just a four point lead midway through the first quarter. The Eagles would then go on a quick 6-0 run to make the score 15-5 with 4:35 left in the first quarter.
In the waning stages of the first quarter, the Bobcats would cut the lead to eight before the Eagles would go on a big run to close out the first quarter. The Eagles went on an 8-0 run to finish the first quarter leading the Bobcats 25-9.
The second quarter started with a 9-0 run from the Eagles extending their lead to 25 points. The Bobcats would get on the scoreboard off of a three-pointer from
Maddy Duncan (Hamburg, Iowa), making the score 34-11. The Bobcats would go on a huge 17-2 run to cut the lead all the way down to seven with just 40 seconds left in the half. The Eagles would take an eight point lead into the break 39-31.
Here is what head coach
Ian Holleran had to say about the run to close out the half.
"I was very proud of how the team responded to end the half," said Holleran. "Central Methodist is a very talented team and for us to battle back like we did showed a lot of heart."
Holleran would continue:
"We competed throughout the game and I think this is something we can use as motivation moving forward." I'm super excited for another opportunity Monday against Park."
After the half the Bobcats would cut the lead to six multiple times the latest on a three-pointer from Duncan, making the score 45-39 with 6:07 left in the third quarter. Late in the third quarter the Eagles would go on a 10-0 run to make the score 64-42 with just under two minutes to play in the third. The Eagles would take a 20 point lead into the fourth leading 66-46.
The final quarter of action began with the teams trading baskets but Central Methodist would maintain its 20 point lead for the most of the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Bobcats were never really able to get a sustained run going in the final stages and would end with a 14 point loss to the Eagles.
Three Bobcats ended the day in double figures as Duncan led the way with 20 points,
Hailey Ingram (Omaha), was second in scoring as she put in 17 and
Samantha Stewart (Mount Ayr, Iowa), put in ten points. The leading rebounder for the Bobcats was
Julie Miller (Easton, Kansas), with seven rebounds.
The Bobcats shot well from the floor as they were 22-of-46, shooting 47.8%, the Bobcats from beyond the arc shot 6-of-13 shooting 40.8%. Peru State did have ten more turnovers than Central Methodist as the Bobcats ended with 23 and the Eagles ended with 13.
Here is what coach Holleran said about shooting performance.
"This was one of those games where we knew we had to shoot it well and rebound and I thought for the most part we did both," Holleran stated. "If we can play like we did tonight, we will have chance to win any game we play."
Peru State has a quick turnaround as they will be back on the floor at home Monday against Park (8-10 overall, 2-10 Heart South) at 6:00 p.m. in the Al Wheeler Activity Center.
