Women's Basketball lost a heart-breaker at home Wednesday.
The Ravens lost to the Peru State College Bobcats 70-67 after leading by as many as 23 points in the second half.
After going up by more than 20 points in the third quarter, the Ravens seemed to be in control heading to the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead. The Bobcats stormed back in the fourth quarter, going on an 18-4 run to open the quarter, leveling the game at 64-64 with 3:30 to play.
LaRanda Thomas answered for the Ravens, making a layup on a drive to the lane. With 1:32 to play and the Ravens still up 66-64, Ali Brzozowski was fouled and made one free throw to push the Ravens lead to 3 points.
Claire Cudney sank a pair of free throws for the Bobcats, then Peru State got the ball back with 32 seconds left, still down 67-66. Skylar Washington blocked two shots for the Ravens, but Cudney snagged the second block and made a layup to give the Bobcats the lead.
On the other end, Kayla Staley was whistled for an offensive foul, giving the ball back to the Bobcats, who sank two free throws to ice the game.
The Ravens shot 42.9 percent from the field and from the 3-point line. Staley had a team-high 18 points, Ali Brzozowski finished with 15 and Grace Brzozowski had 10 points. The Bobcats had nine more rebounds than the Ravens, 45-36, including a 17-11 offensive rebound advantage.
The tough finish didn't seem like a possibility early in the game as the Ravens quickly found a rhythm on offense, netting 25 points in the first quarter to take a 12-point lead after 10 minutes. They shot 68.8 percent from the floor and connected on three 3-point attempts to gain the early advantage.
Rachael Baumgartner reached a career milestone in the first quarter, also. The senior nabbed a Bobcat miss, the 500th rebound in her career. She finished the game with five rebounds.
The second quarter wasn't quite as hot for the Ravens, but they were able to extend their lead to 41-27 by halftime. The Ravens finished the first half shooting 52.9 percent from the floor.
Ali Brzozowski had 10 points to lead the Ravens in the first half, with Grace Brzozowski and Staley both scoring 8 points.
The two teams played even through the third quarter, with the Ravens maintaining their 14-point advantage. They took a 60-46 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats completed a furious rally to pull out the win.
The Ravens (16-11, 10-11 Heart) will travel for a game at Graceland University on Saturday, Feb. 22.
