(Peru, Neb.) – In a hard-fought contest, the Peru State women's basketball team claimed their first Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) win of the season Wednesday night.

The Bobcats topped the visiting Graceland (Iowa) Yellowjackets 74-58 in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on the Peru State campus.

With the win, Peru State improved to 3-2 overall and are 1-0 in the Heart North. The 'Jackets fell to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the Heart North.

First Quarter Action

The first quarter was tight throughout with four ties and four lead changes. The largest lead was four which was by Graceland.

Maddy Duncan (Sidney) hit a trey to start the contest off an assist from Dayna Dewitt (Mansfield, Texas) with just 13 seconds off the clock.

Graceland would rattle off the next seven points before Mackenzie Shupe (Lenexa, Kan.) hit a three-pointer on an assist from Alyssa Marsh-Contreras (Omaha). Shupe finished off a four-point play as she had been fouled on the shot to knot the score at 7 with 6:23 on the clock.

The Yellowjackets would again go up by four only to see Shupe hit another three and then Marsh-Contreras put the Bobcats in the lead at 12-11.

Later, with ten seconds on the clock, Marsh-Contreras hit a three to put Peru State up 18-15 at the first quarter break.

Second Quarter Action

McKenzie Witt (Falls City) drained a three-pointer off an assist from Shupe to start the second quarter.

Graceland would score the next five points to pull within one, but that would be as close as they would get in the second stanza.

Peru State would extend their lead to 12 with 4:35 on the clock after Duncan hit a three off an assist from Witt. The 'Cats led 34-22 at that point.

Marsh-Contreras would end the scoring in the quarter with a pair of free throws to make it 39-24 with 1:52 left in the half. Neither team could sink anything before halftime.

Third Quarter Action

Peru State would score the first six points of the second half with Marsh-Contreras scoring all six – two on a pair of free throws and then back-to-back buckets with the last coming on an assist from Dewitt.

The Bobcats' largest lead came with 4:46 left in the quarter as Dewitt hit a bucket in the paint to make it 49-26.

Graceland would cut the lead to 18 at 53-35 before the quarter ended.

Fourth Quarter Action

A three-pointer by Duncan from Marsh-Contreras started the quarter and it appeared the 'Cats were in control. However, Graceland had other ideas and did go on a 17-6 run to cut the deficit to ten at 62-52 with 3:28 left in the game.

A pair of Shupe free throws stopped their run and Peru State went on for their first Heart win of the season.

GRACELAND GAME BOOK

Team Statistics

Peru State finished with a better shooting percentage in all categories than the Yellowjackets. The 'Cats made 26 of 68 of their field goals for 38.2% and almost shot the ball as well from long range as they hit 10 of 28 for 35.7%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats were 12 of 16 for 75%. Graceland hit 19 of 61 field goals for 31.1% and connected on 6 of 22 from behind the arc for 27.3%. At the charity stripe, the Yellowjackets were 14 of 23 for 60.9%.

The Bobcats had an edge in rebounding as they finished with 44 boards compared to 32 for the Yellowjackets. Peru State had 19 assists while Graceland finished with 16.

The 'Cats had one more turnover than Graceland as they had 17 miscues. Peru State blocked one shot and had seven steals while the Yellowjackets had three blocks and 11 steals.

Peru Individual Statistics

The Bobcats had a balanced scoring attack and were led by Marsh-Contreras who finished with a game-high 18 points. Libby Baumert (Plattsmouth) added 15 points while Duncan and Shupe contributed 13 and 11 respectively.

Dewitt, Marsh-Contreras, and Witt led the team with six rebounds. Finishing with five boards were Baumert, Duncan, and Shupe.

Marsh-Contreras dished out a game-high seven assists with Witt and Dewitt each handing out three.

Julie Miller (Easton, Kan.) was credited with Peru State's block.

Shupe grabbed three steals while Marsh-Contreras was credited with two.

Upcoming Contests

Peru State will be hosting William Penn (Iowa) on Saturday at noon in a Heart North contest. The Statesmen are 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the Heart having lost three close games.

On Tuesday, the Bobcats will be hosting Grand View (Iowa) in a women's/men's double header beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Vikings have started the season with a 5-1 mark and are 1-0 in the Heart. Grand View's only blemish on their record is a loss to Dordt (Iowa) in the second game of the year.