CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A hard fought battle on Saturday afternoon against the Bobcats of Peru State College resulted in the Mustangs' first conference win by a score of 72-65. Trailing for much of the first half, the Mustangs rallied back to take control of the game and defend their home court. This win put an end to the Mustangs' three-game losing streak moving them to 5-10 overall and 1-8 in the Heart of America Conference.To start the game, the Bobcats raced out of the gates on an 8-0 run. A field goal by Chelsey Lampe (SR/Riverside, Iowa) halted the run, but the Mustangs still trailed by as much as 12 points in the first quarter after giving up multiple second chance opportunities. Collecting themselves as time winded down in the quarter, a Sharice Kawakami (SR/Honolulu, Hawaii) layup would spark some energy as the Mustangs chipped away to end the quarter on a 7-0 run. In the second quarter, the Mustangs outscored the Bobcats 20-14. Back-to-back three pointers by Audrey Mulumba (JR/Vantaa, Finland) and Lampe would cut the Bobcat lead down to just three. After a few easy offensive possessions for the Bobcats, the Mustangs fought back as time began to expire before the half. With a little over a minute left, Kawakami converted the long ball followed by a three-point play by Sarah Moffett (SO/Mount Pleasant, Iowa) to snag Mount Mercy's first lead of the game going into the half 31-30.Peru State struck first out of the half to take back the lead. As time went on in the third, the Mustangs answered with two big threes by Anna LeGrand (FR/Coggon, Iowa) and Aaliyah Brown (JR/Crawfordsville, Iowa) to push the lead to 43-39. However, refusing to be sent home without a fight, the Bobcats tied up the game at 44-44 going into the fourth quarter. Out of the huddle, the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run thanks to three pointers by Mulumba and Lampe. The Bobcats continued to hang around until Lakin Goodman (SR/Morrison, Ill.) delivered the dagger to put the game away and collect the Mustang win.In Saturday's conference matchup, the Mustangs shot 41% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, while shooting 60.9% from the free throw line. The Mustangs pulled down 41 total rebounds with 11 of those being offensive. Individual leaders were Mulumba with 16 followed by Kawakami, Moffett, and Lampe with 12 each. Brown lead on the boards as she pulled down eight. Kawakami lead the Mustangs with four assists. Mulumba would also add one steal and one block to cap off her performance. Up next, the Mustangs will host another conference matchup on Monday, Jan. 7 at 5:30 P.M. against Grand View University in Hennessey Rec Center.
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