The Park University women's basketball program had a tough matchup with (RV) Grand View University on Wednesday night in Des Moines, Iowa. The Vikings defended home court in a 90-58 contest.

The Pirates teeter to .500 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference at 7-7 and are 10-8 overall. The Pirates currently reside at the No. 7 spot in the conference, while Grand View is No. 4 at 10-3 in Heart play and 12-5 overall.

Makayla Artis scored the opening basket and Emma Perry answered a Grand View three-pointer with a steal and three-point make of her own to take a 5-3 lead. A Grand View 9-1 run put Park behind, but Perry fired another three-ball to make it 12-9 with 4:19 to go in the first quarter. Two more three-pointers were sunk by the Vikings, as they moved to a 20-13 lead by the quarter's end.

A three-pointer by Grand View out of the gate in the second quarter helped them to a 5-0 start and led 25-13. Perry and Nevaeh Spillman combined their two layups to make up ground, but Grand View was quick to recoil with a 7-0 run to make it 32-17 with 5:03 left. Nadiyah Cooper and Alexus Woodard were the only Pirates to score in the remaining five minutes on only one field-goal. Meanwhile, the Vikings 24-point quarter moved them to a difficult lead to surmise at the halftime break, 44-22.

The Pirates came out in the third quarter with the highest scoring period of the evening of 21 points, starting with a pair of layups by Spillman to begin the second half. Three-point shots by Paige Scott helped keep pace with the Vikings and the Pirates still trailed by 20 points at 5:34, 52-32. Park outshot the Vikings in the third quarter 54.5-percent to 44.4-percent, but four more turnovers costed Park some key possessions to do more damage, as the Vikings still had a strong hold of the lead at 68-43 at the end of the quarter.

Scott and Perry tacked on additional three-pointers in the fourth quarter, matching one another with three made shots from behind the line to lead their team. After a few more layups by Spillman to make it a 76-54 game, a timeout by Grand View at 5:34 brought on another big run. The Vikings would finish the game outscoring Park 14-4 for a 90-58 win.
Grand View shot 50-percent for the game, while Park was at 33.3-percent. The Vikings doubled the number of threes as Park with 13 at a 44.8-percent mark compared to 30-percent on six makes for Park.

The Pirates went to the line and made them count at 18-of-21, while the Vikings were seven-of-11.

Park ended with 18 turnovers, three more than the Vikings, and both sides were even at 17 points off turnovers.

The Vikings had the edge in second chance points with 22 to Park's nine. The Vikings had 13 offensive rebounds to only six for Park.

Grand View also had the advantage in fastbreak points at 12 to four, and bench points with 24 compared to Park's 13.

Cooper led Park with 12 points, including a six-of-eight night from the line. Perry, Spillman, and Scott were next in line in scoring. Perry and Spillman put up a pair of 11-point performances, while Scott was knocking on double-figures at nine points.

Spillman led Park with four assists, while Jordan Bianco was the only other multiple assist Pirate on the night.

Cooper and Bianco were the leading rebounders for Park at six and four.   

The Pirates head to Oskaloosa, Iowa on Saturday to face William Penn University at 2:00pm. WATCH
Box Score