Pride get by shaky start to cruise to 84-65 win over Peru State

PERU, Neb. - Beginning Heart of America Athletic Conference play on the road, the Clarke University women's basketball team earned a 84-65 victory over Peru State College on Tuesday night.

The game started in favor of the Bobcats as they held the lead for most of the first quarter up until their 16-15 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the opening frame. That's when the metaphorical switch flipped for the Pride as they went on to go on a 14-0 run over the next 2:59 from the end of the first into the first few minutes of the second quarter to lead 29-16. 

"Being on the road in conference is always tough," head coach Courtney Boyd said. "Once we found our momentum we were able to string a couple of runs together that helped the flow of the game."

It was smooth sailing for CU for most of the remainder of the game as they outscored Peru State by 10 points in both the second and third quarters to hold a 24-point lead heading into the final frame, where PSC finished the game outscoring Clarke 20-15 in the final 10 minutes.

Clarke had a well balanced offensive attack, finishing the game with 10 players scoring in the game led by four players finishing in double figures. The game's high scorer was sophomore forward Taylor Haase as she finished with 17 points in just 19 minutes off the bench while adding six rebounds and an assist in the game.

Starters Tina Ubl (16), Giana Michels (15), and Emma Kelchen (11) also finished in double figures as Ubl added two rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block, Michels put up five rebounds, three steals, two assists, then Kelchen grabbed seven rebounds and added two assists.

The Pride dominated in the paint, scoring 50 of their 84 around the rim compared to just 30 for Peru State as offensive rebounding was also key for CU finishing that category 13-5 while scoring 17 second chance points compared to just three for the Bobcats.

"This is an exciting time of year," Boyd said. "Conference season has started and now we get to focus on the details and execution one game at a time."

Clarke women's basketball will have the Thanksgiving weekend off before they get back to work to prepare for their next game in the Heart when they travel to Lamoni, Iowa to take on Graceland University on Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. CT.