Dec. 13, 2008

Final Stats

The Peacock women's basketball team earned their first Northern Sun Conference victory with a 83-70 decision over the Beavers of Bemidji State University. The win was the second for the Peacocks over the Beavers in the last two weeks. Upper Iowa used a perfect effort at the charity stripe in the first half to take a 35-28 lead into the break. The Peacocks pushed their lead into double digits a few times in the second half, but played most of the half with a seven to eight point lead. In the final few minutes of action, UIU pulled away from BSU claiming a fifteen-point advantage before the home team scored the final bucket. After the victory, the Peacocks improved to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the NSIC, while the Beavers dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-4 in conference action.

The defenses opened the game in control as the offenses only managed a combined 11 points through the first six minutes of action. By the time the clock read 12:20, Upper Iowa led Bemidji State by five, 12-7. The Peacock offense continued to push their lead after a 7-0 run fueled by three scorers gave the visitors a 19-10 lead. A pair of free throws by Britney Iredale extended the lead to thirteen points, 27-14. The home team closed the final five minutes of the half by outscoring their guests 14-8. UIU headed to the locker room with a 35-28 lead.

Bemidji State came out of halftime focused and cut the deficit to three points, 36-33, thanks to a 5-1 run to open the half. Upper Iowa did not let the momentum turn as they raced back out to an eleven point lead, 46-35, by outscoring their hosts 10-3 in just two minutes. Iredale fueled the run with five points. The Beavers cut the margin to five points on three different occasions midway through the half, but the Peacocks responded each time. With 5:42 on the clock, Bemidji State pulled to within six, 68-62, but Upper Iowa did not allow their hosts to get any closer. The Peacocks outscored the Beavers 15-8 over the final five minutes of the half to claim the thirteen-point victory.

Upper Iowa registered five players in double figure points against Bemidji State. Iredale led the team with 21 points, while Andrea Downs knocked home 19 points. Lana Otting (13), Paige DeVine (11), and Melissa Fitz (10) were the other three players to lead the UIU offense. Both Iredale and DeVine recorded double-doubles as the pair pulled down 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Peacocks will play in one final game before taking a break for the holidays. Upper Iowa will welcome the Duhawks of Loras College on Monday, Dec. 15, at 7:00 p.m. The non-conference game will be a rematch of former- Iowa Conference foes.