Feb. 25, 2009
Final Stats
The Peacock women's basketball team played host to the Warriors of Winona State on Wednesday night in Dorman Gym. The Peacocks took the floor for the final time at home this season. Winona State took a one-point lead into the halftime break. The Warriors got balanced scoring between their starters and bench, while Upper Iowa got all but three points from their starters. Winona State shot nearly 70% in the second half to pull away from UIU and win the conference game, 73-61. After the loss, Upper Iowa falls to 5-21 on the season and 1-18 in the NSIC. Winona State improves to 21-5 on the year and 14-5 in the conference.
The Warriors jumped out to a 9-2 lead after six minutes of action after holding the Peacocks to just one for seven shooting from the field. The Peacocks began to find their stride and crawled back into the game cutting the margin to just four points, 13-9. The UIU rally was thanks to a pair of jumpers from Britney Iredale and a trifecta by Inga Briede. The Peacocks and Warriors traded baskets over the next few minutes and the home team continued to stay close with the #2 team in the NSIC as the first half wound down. Upper Iowa took a one-point lead, 29-28, with 1:18 on the clock after a short 6-0 run. Winona State retook the lead 31-30 as the teams headed to the locker rooms at the break.
Iredale led the Peacocks with 13 points in the first, while the Warriors were led by Jenny Steffen's 9 points off the bench.
Winona State came out of halftime and raced out to an eleven point lead, 46-35, with 12:44 showing on the game clock. After the slow start in the second half, Upper Iowa began to hit their opportunities on the offensive side, but the Warriors' shooting did not cool down. As the minutes continued to wind down, Upper Iowa cut the gap to seven points on a few occasions, but the visitors always seemed to have an answer. As the clock hit two minutes to play, Winona State held a 66-57 lead. Iredale kept hitting shots in her final game in Dorman Gym, but the Warriors matched her scores with made free throws to maintain their lead. With under a minute to play, Winona State had a 71-61 lead. In the end, the visitors took the NSIC win, 73-61.
The Warriors were led by Kelsey Homewood (18 points, 4 rebounds), Jenny Steffen (16 points), Ana Wurtz (12 points, 3 assists), and Molly Anderson (4 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds).
The Peacocks were led by Iredale's 12th double-double of the season. The senior racked up 26 points and 10 rebounds. Lyndsay Westgaard also pulled down 10 boards.
The Peacocks will play their final game of the 2008-09 season this Saturday, Feb. 28, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Upper Iowa will face the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul at 6:00 p.m.
