Gutty fourth quarter sees BU hold off Peru State late

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- In a game which saw each team lead by double figures it was the Bellevue University women's basketball team emerging with an 80-79 victory in an intra-state match-up with Peru State College on Wednesday evening at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Records:

(RV) Bellevue: 5-1
Peru State: 0-3

Recap: (RV) Bellevue 80, Peru State 79

Peru State led by as many as eight points with 4:38 to play but 10-straight BU points gave the Bruins a 72-70 lead.

Three-pointers by Taeha Pankey and Lexi Allen started the run before Morgan Cuffe took a dish from Faith Ross to tie the game with 2:49 to play. A pair of free throws from Ross gave the Bruins their first lead since midway through the third quart, with just 1:38 to go.

Claire Cudney tied things up with a put-back basket with 56 seconds to go but Bellevue rattled off five-straight points to grab a commanding 77-72 lead.

A four-point play from Alys Marsh-Contreras cut the Bruin lead to one with 10.4 seconds on the clock. Shane Collins made the first of two free throws at the other end before Cuffe collected an offensive board on the second attempt and sank both shots with 3.8 seconds on the clock.

Marsh-Contreras knocked down another trey but with just 0.2 seconds on the clock. Bellevue ran out the clock on the inbounds play.

Bellevue looked to be in command early on, grabbing a 24-11 lead when Jamie Winkler knocked down a three with 1:35 to play in the first quarter.

The Bobcats pulled to within three when Maria Alcantra scored a layup with 4:32 left in the second quarter. Bellevue responded by closing the half on a 13-8 spurt and taking a 42-34 lead into the locker room.

Elexis Martinez posted a near triple-double for the Bruins, finishing with game-highs of 20 points, 12 rebounds, and a program-record eight blocked shots.

Joining Martinez in double-figures were Cuffe and Pankey with 13 and 11, respectively.

Allen pumped in eight points and added two rebounds and a pair of steals off the bench. Collins, Ross, and Winkler – who dished out a team-best six assists – each poured in seven for BU.

With size mismatches across the board Peru State held a 58-35 advantage on the glass, led by Alcantra's 11 boards. She added 13 points and six assists for the Bobcats.

Giovanna Silva scored 16 to go with seven rebounds and Claire Cudney dropped in 14 points and seven boards off the bench.

Up Next:

Bellevue hosts Cottey College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Notes:

• The seven turnovers committed by BU were the second-fewest in program history; they committed just six against Grace on Nov. 2, 2016.
• BU blocked 12 shots in the game, their most since swatting 13 shots against Grace on Nov. 15, 2017.