Park University's women's basketball program had a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Bobcats of Peru State College in Peru, Neb.   

The Pirates are now 7-9 on the season and 4-8 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, while the Bobcats improve to 9-7 and 6-6 of the same.

Park got off to a great start in the matchup with the Bobcats with a 6-2 lead just outside of the first 4:00 of the game. Taylor Shelby starting things off with a layup, followed by made shots by Marina Perdiguero and Nevaeh Spillman. After Peru State tied the game at 6, Emma Perry lit it up behind the line for a 9-6 lead for Park at 4:13 in the first quarter. Under the 3:00 mark, Park got the ball rolling again on back to back scores by Spillman and Perry, which led into a three-point bucket by Shelby to close out the half with a 7-3 run for a 16-11 first quarter lead over the Bobcats.

Another 6-2 run began the second quarter for Park, giving them the 22-14 lead with 7:07 to go in the second quarter. Perry struck again with a three-point basket along with a layup off of a Bobcat turnover by Iva Drobnjak to put Park up by 11 points at 5:31, 27-16. The scoring slowed down for the Pirates to close the half though and a 6-2 run by Peru State cut the lead to seven points, 29-22.

Through the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Pirates were able to fend off the Bobcats' attacks, as both teams alternated points through the first 4:37 of the third quarter. Park maintained their distance from the Bobcats and led by 8 points at the 5:23 mark, 36-28. The Pirates extended their lead though, starting with a made lay-in by Makaya Artis. This began a 9-2 run, which included free-throws by Shelby, a three by Perry, and Spillman. The Pirates amassed their largest lead of the game to this point at 2:11 in the third quarter by 15 points, 45-30. Peru State took a 4-2 run to the end the quarter, but the damage had been done with a 47-34 lead by Park.

The Bobcats were down but not out as a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter made it a thrilling start to the fourth quarter, as Park held a 47-40 lead at 7:43. The Bobcats were called for a personal foul with a technical foul tacked on to give four free-throw attempts upcoming for the Pirates. Shelby made the first and then Perry capitalized with two more makes from the strike to restore a 10-point lead, 50-40. After a Peru State score, a technical foul on Shelby opened the window for the Bobcats to score two free-throws and a layup to come within four points, 50-46. This was also only part of a greater 12-0 run to flip the lead for the first time in the game for Peru State 52-50 with 1:13 remaining. Shelby was able to tie the game 52-52 with a layup with 23 seconds left. Peru State was able to connect on a pair of closing second free-throws and held Park in the last possession for the 54-52 win.

The Pirates were outscored 20-5 in the final quarter. Peru State shot 38-percent from the field to only 29-percent from the Pirates. Park had an advantage from three at five-of-15 to the Bobcats' two-of-nine. Perry was spectacular at four-of-six from deep for Park.

The turnover bug bit Park towards the end with five turnovers in the last 7:15 of the game. Park had 14 turnovers compared to Peru States' 16. Per State was able to utilize those turnovers with 16 points, while the Pirates made the most of their opportunities too with 10 points off turnovers.

Peru State impressively, was 10-for-10 at the line, while Park had similar chances at seven-of-11.

Perry had a career-high of 22 points today on eight-of-14 from the field. Her seven rebounds were tied for second today along with Perdiguero and Spillman's seven boards.

Artis worked hard down low with a team-high of 13 rebounds for the game.

Shelby and Spillman were the only Pirates besides Perry to be in double-figure scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Pirates are back in action at 5:30pm on Thursday, January 18 in Breckon Sports Center against MidAmerica Nazarene University. WATCH
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