(Peru, Neb.)—The Peru State women's basketball team fell to No. 8 Clarke 79-68 on Wednesday night. The Bobcats are now 9-18 overall and 5-16 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play while the Pride are 24-3 overall and 18-3 in conference play.
 
Below is a breakdown of how the game went…
 
It was a low scoring start to the game as Maddy Duncan (Hamburg, Iowa) tied the game at four with a layup three minutes into the first quarter of action. The Bobcats took their first lead of the game halfway through the first as Duncan hit a three pointer.
 
Later in the first Peru State extended its lead out to four after buckets from Duncan and Danielle Howard (Uniontown, Kan.). Clarke finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 16-13 lead.
 
In the second quarter the game was tied at 19 all after Duncan hit a shot from deep. The Pride then extended their lead out to five up 24-19, but the Bobcats hung tough all night long. A mini 6-2 run had the Bobcats back within one down 26-25.
 
Contributing to the run was a three by Howard and an old fashioned three-point play from Natasha Deal (Winnebago). The Bobcats were able to cut the lead down to one three more times. Baskets from Sam Stewart (Mount Ayr, Iowa) and Olivia Williams (Minneapolis, Minn.) helped Peru State cut the lead each time.
 
Latest from a layup by Stewart with 40 seconds in the first half as the Bobcats trailed 34-33 going into the halftime break.
 
Peru State trailed by five immediately in the third quarter but got it back to a one point game from two Stewart layups as they trailed 38-37 early in the second half. The Bobcats cut the lead to one once more before Clarke went on a big run.
 
The Pride went on a 9-0 run to take a ten-point 49-39 lead with 3:36 to play in the third quarter. Peru State was able to cut lead down to two possessions after a jump shot from Julie Miller (Easton, Kan.).
 
The Pride then extended its lead back out to double digits up 11 with around two minutes to play.  Clarke went into the final quarter of play up 58-45.
 
Clarke was leading by 14 up 63-49 in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats made another push with a quick 5-0 run after a jumper from Stewart and a three-pointer from Jescenia Mosley (Shenandoah, Iowa). As the score was now 63-54.
 
The Pride then went on a 10-3 run to make the score 73-57 with under four minutes to play in the fourth. Peru State made one final push late cutting the lead down to nine going on a 9-2 run to make the score 75-66.
 
Contributing the run were baskets by Stewart, Mosley, Free throws by Mosley and a three from Hailey Ingram (Omaha).
 
Peru State unfortunately could not close the gap further than that as they lost the game 79-68.
 
Peru State shot 29-of-73 from the field shooting 39.7%, 7-of-16 from beyond the arc shooting 43.8% and a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.
 
Clarke shot 25-of-55 from the field shooting 45.5%, 6-of-15 from beyond the arc shooting 40% and 23-of-34 from the foul line shooting 67.6%.
 
Clarke outscore Peru State 34-28 in the paint and Peru State had 34 bench points compared to Clarke's 22.
 
Stewart led the way in points with 20, Duncan and Mosley tied for ten apiece. Mosley led the team in rebounds with seven and a team high four assists.
 
The Peru State athletic department would like to thank seniors Jescenia Mosley and Julie Miller for their efforts the past few seasons.
 
Peru State hits the road one final time this season to take on Baker in Baldwin City, Kan. Tip-Off is Saturday, February 18, at 2:00 p.m.