(Peru, Neb.) – After a tight first quarter, the visiting Concordia women's basketball team pulled ahead by 12 at halftime in route to an 80-58 victory over Peru State Monday night.
 
The Bobcats did make a late rally in the fourth quarter to twice cut the deficit to ten. But, the 'Cats could not get under double digits as the Bulldogs picked up their second win of the season.
 
Concordia improved to 2-3 on the year while Peru State fell to 2-2 in the non-conference match-up.
 
First Quarter Action
 
The Bobcats jumped to a 6-0 lead on three-point buckets by Libby Baumert (Plattsmouth) and Maddy McPhillips (Omaha) off assists respectively from Alyssa Marsh-Contreras (Omaha) and Mackenzie Shupe (Lenexa, Kan.). Concordia scored a pair of buckets to cut it to two before Marsh-Contreras hit a bucket off an assist from Ellie Bream (Waverly).
 
Peru State maintained the lead until Concordia eventually tied it at 12 with 2:34 left in the first quarter. Maddy Duncan (Sidney, Iowa) hit a pair of free throws to break the tie.
 
The Bulldogs would get a trey to end the quarter with a 15-14 lead.


 Second Quarter Action
 
Shupe would start the second quarter with a three-pointer off an assist from Dayna Dewitt (Mansfield, Texas) to give Peru State what would be their final lead of the game with 9:33 left in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs would go on a 7-0 run before Baumert hit a bucket in the paint off an assist from Shupe to make the score 22-19 at the 6:49 mark.
 
An 8-0 Concordia run gave the Bulldogs a double-digit lead at 30-19 with 3:12 left in the second quarter. Concordia would eventually lead 36-24 at halftime.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
The Bulldogs would score the first seven points of the second half before Duncan drained a trey off an assist from Marsh-Contreras at the 6:27 point.
 
Concordia would lead by 16 at the quarter break at 56-40.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 
Julie Miller (Easton, Kan.) started the quarter with a bucket off an assist from McKenzie Witt (Falls City). Concordia would respond with a pair of hoops and led 60-42 with 8:51 left in the game.
 
The Bobcats would go on one of the late runs at that point which started with back-to-back buckets by Miller in the paint with the second one coming off an assist from Witt. Marsh-Contreras followed with a bucket and then sunk a pair of free throws. With 7:32 on the clock, the 'Cats were back within ten at 60-50.
 
After the Bulldogs scored three points, Duncan nailed a three from the corner off an assist from Marsh-Contreras and Peru State was again within ten with 5:37 remaining.
 
The Bulldogs would catch some fire at that point and outscored Peru State 17-5 the rest of the way for the win.
 
CONCORDIA GAME BOOK

Team Statistics
 
Neither team shot the ball very well as Concordia finished the game making 26 of 78 shots from 33.3% while struggling from behind the arc hitting just 5 of 30 for 16.7%. The Bulldogs made 23 of 32 free throws for 71.9%. After shooting the ball well Friday night, Peru State struggled from the floor making just 15 of 59 for 25.4%. The 'Cats actually were slightly better from long range hitting 7 of 27 for 25.9%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats connected on 21 of 27 for 77.8%.
 
Concordia had a significant rebounding edge which led to 19 second-chance points. The Bulldogs grabbed 52 boards compared to 38 for Peru State.
 
The Bulldogs dished out one more assist than Peru State as they finished with 12. Both teams had too many turnovers as Concordia had 17 compared to 24 for the 'Cats.
 
Both teams blocked two shots. Concordia recorded 14 steals and Peru State finished with five.
 

Peru Individual Statistics
 
Marsh-Contreras led all scorers as she finished with 23 points which included making 12 of 15 from the free throw line. Duncan was the only other Bobcat finishing in double figures as she had 12.
 
Marsh-Contreras was also the team's leading rebounder as she grabbed eight boards. Miller added five while Dewitt, Shupe, and Witt each finished with four.
 
Leading two more stat lines, Marsh-Contreras dished out a game-high five assists and grabbed two steals. Shupe and Witt each handed out two assists while Duncan was credited with two steals.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will be hosting three straight home contests which will be the start of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) play. All will be North Division games.
 
Wednesday night, the Graceland (Iowa) Yellowjackets will be the opponents beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets opened the season with a non-conference win over Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.).
 
The Bobcats were to have been at Mount Mercy (Iowa) on Saturday; however, the Mustangs are in quarantine. Now Peru State will be hosting William Penn (Iowa) at noon as the Heart is trying to get in as many division games as early as possible. The Statesmen are 0-2 on the year and will play one more game before heading to Peru on the weekend.
 
On Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, Grand View (Iowa) will be the opponent at 5:30 p.m. The Vikings have started the season with a 4-1 mark with their only blemish coming in a loss to Dordt (Iowa).
 
The Wednesday and Tuesday games will be double headers with men's games to follow – at least at this point.