Kennedy and Ryan step up in a big way in Pride's 91-81 win over Peru State
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Playing their first home game of the 2025 calendar year, the Clarke University women's basketball team was able to earn their second-straight win coming off of their Christmas break in a 91-81 win over Peru State College on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the game, the Pride were going to be down two of their regular starters with Maci Kuchta ruled out due to injury and Sydni Morris missing the game due to illness forcing increased roles for a variety of CU players.
The new starting lineup took a little time to get down, trailing 5-0 within the first minute and a half but Zoe Kennedy and Josie Potts got to work after that with Kennedy either scoring or assisting on Potts' three pointers to give Clarke a 15-2 run over a four-plus minute stretch of the first quarter.
Kennedy's role slightly changed with Kuchta out as she served as the primary ball handler for most of the game as she would have her best ball distribution game in her first season in navy and gold tying the school record for assists in a game with 16, tying Tina Kuhle's record set in 1990.
The sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa would record a triple-double with a game-high 27 points, those 16 assists, and 10 rebounds for the Pride's first triple-double since the 2017-18 season when Kea Whittington finished with 15 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds on Feb. 27, 2018 against Missouri Valley College.
A strong first half would see the Pride lead 42-27 at the break but the Bobcats wouldn't back down in the third, cutting the lead down to its closest margin since early in the second quarter of six points at 55-49 with just over three mintues to go in the third.
Clarke would go on to finish the quarter on a 14-2 run to lead 69-51 going into the fourth as the quarter was highlighted by the nine points scored by freshman forward Reese Ryan, who was one of the players to see more time on the court with CU shorthanded.
That lead would be extended to the Pride's largest of 20 points in the fourth quarter under a minute into the final period, allowing Clarke to survive being outscored by eight points in the quarter by Peru State.
Ryan, a Lodi, Wis. native, finished with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, both career-highs, becoming the first freshman to record a double-double for the Pride since Nicole McDermott did so on Feb. 24, 2021 with a 17-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Evangel.
Beyond Kennedy and Ryan's standout performances, Clarke also got 15 points from Potts, who went 3-for-4 from three point range, and 10 from Hailey Walters, who went 2-for-4 from three point range.
The three-point shot kept the Bobcats in the game as they finished 12-of-21 (57.1%) as a team led by a 5-for-8 (62.5%)day from Natasha Deal who finished with a team-high 25 points but took 23 total shots from the field to get there, while Savannah Bingham added a 4-for-6 (66.7%) performance from deep for all of her 12 points.
Clarke women's basketball will be back on the court in two days for the make-up date for their original postponement at Grand View University when they travel back to Des Moines, Iowa for a 6:00 p.m. CT tip against the Vikings on Monday, Jan. 6.