Wildcats Fall in Road Overtime Heartbreaker at Peru State

PERU, Neb. - Baker women's basketball had another road upset bid come up short in heartbreaking fashion as the Wildcats fell on the road at Peru State, 88-73, in overtime on Wednesday evening.

BU led by two with the ball with 12 seconds left in regulation, but the Bobcats forced a crucial turnover and were able to get the game-tying layup to fall to send the game to overtime. Peru State used the momentum to steamroll its way through the extra period and escape with a 15-point overtime win.

Backed by a hot-shooting night from Kennedy Bryan, Baker drained a season-high 10 threes and finished shooting 26-for-57 from the floor, while PSC shot slightly better at 34-for-72. The Bobcats controlled the rebound margin, 45-32, and had 54 of their points come inside the paint.

Bryan made all but one of her six 3-pointers in the game to tally a season-best 21 points and added seven rebounds and three assists. Gabby Rose led the Wildcats in scoring with 23 points and Taniya Tease joined her in double figures with 13 points.

The two teams launched into a tight-knit battle right from the start, with four straight points from Tease and Rose's first triple of the game highlighting the early action for BU. After the Bobcats went up by seven, the Wildcats held them to just two points for the final four-plus minutes, while a three from Rihanna Blanchard helped keep the game tied at 18-18 after the first quarter of play.

Rose swished another one from downtown to start the second period and the Wildcats continued to be strong defensively, eventually outscoring PSC, 17-10, in the frame. Bryan connected on her first three of the night and Rose scored back-to-back layups in the final 30 seconds as Baker went into the break leading, 35-28.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats remained in control through the first five minutes, until the hosts started to pick things up offensively and reclaim the lead right before the end of the period. Threes by Bryan, Tease and Corrine Cole allowed Baker to weather the surge before the Bobcats closed on an 11-2 run to lead, 51-48, going into the fourth quarter.

Each side nailed a three within the first 45 seconds of the fourth, with Bryan burying her fourth of the game. After PSC started to pull away a little bit, another three from Bryan brought BU right back within one possession.

Rose converted an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 65-65 with 3:31 left in regulation. A three from Bryan and a tough bucket from Cole gave the Wildcats a three-point edge and a free throw from Rose pushed it to four points with 19 seconds left.

After advancing the ball on the timeout, the Bobcats scored in the blink of an eye to cut it to two and then forced a huge miscue from BU on the ensuing sideline possession. Peru State was able to score with four seconds left to send Baker to its first overtime game of the season.

The Bobcats rode their game-tying momentum into the extra frame, where they outscored the Wildcats, 17-2, to spoil BU's upset bid.

Despite what the final tally shows, Baker has put together a string of solid road performances here in the second half of the season, beginning with a 60-56 victory over Kansas Christian back on January 19. BU dropped a one-point loss at Central Methodist last week and gave one of the Heart's top-three teams in Grand View all it could handle in Saturday's setback in Des Moines, Iowa.

Up next, Baker closes out the three-game road gauntlet with a matchup at Missouri Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo.

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