PERU, Neb. -- Elexis Martinez recorded her first career double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds, but the Bellevue University women's basketball team shot just 31.8 percent from the floor as the Bruins fell to Peru State College, 59-50, on Friday evening in non-conference action at the Al Wheeler Activity Center.
Bellevue saw their three-game win streak come to an end as they fell to 6-4 on the year while Peru State snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 3-3.
Taylor Cormier put the Bellevue on the board first as the Bruins opened the game on a 6-0 run, getting a pair of free throws from Caletria Curtis and a basket by Martinez during the spurt. BU led 11-9 with 1:36 to play in the period but back-to-back three-pointers from Alexandra Bader and Jamie Winkler saw the Bruins end the first quarter the same way they started it, on a 6-0 run, to take a 17-9 lead into the second quarter.
After opening up a 10-point lead at the 8:02 mark on a basket by Martinez, BU saw the Bobcats go on a 10-0 run to pull level at the 3:03 mark. In total, Peru State closed the final 6:58 of the first half on an 18-2 run.
Peru States' Abigail Niebrugge led all scorers with 14 points and had five rebounds at the half. Martinez paced the Bruins with six points and five boards at the break while Winkler scored five for the Bruins in the first half.
The typically efficient Bruin offense shot just 32.1 percent from the floor in the opening half, including going just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Bruins came into the game shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from deep on the year.
After Peru State hit the first bucket of the third quarter, Bellevue used a 13-0 run – keyed by nine points from Martinez – to reclaim the lead at 36-30. The Bobcats scored seven of the final eight points in the period to tie the game 37-37 headed into the final quarter.
Lauren Beath opened the fourth quarter by converting an old-fashioned three-point play to start an 8-2 run as Peru State opened up a six-point lead. Shayla Dean cut the deficit in half for the Bruins with a three-pointer at the 3:27 mark, however, Bellevue's second half shooting struggles were too much to overcome and PSC out-scored the Bruins 22-13 in the final period to secure the win.
Dean supported Martinez's big night with a solid line of nine points, five rebounds, and five assists and Curtis added seven rebounds.
BU shared the ball well in the game, assisting on 15 of 20 made field goals during the contest, including issuing assists on each of their first eight. The 50 points scored by Bellevue was the Bruins' lowest offensive out-put of the season.
The Bruins won the battle of the board owning a 38-34 advantage but were out-scored by a combined 17-4 margin on second chance and points off turnovers.
Niebrugge finished with a game-high 24 points along with nine rebounds for Peru State. McPhillips joined her in double figures with 13 points and Destany Ross finished with 13 rebounds to lead the Bobcats on the boards.
Bellevue returns home Monday, Nov. 20 to host Briar Cliff University at 6 p.m. at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center in their final non-conference game before the start of NSAA play.
