The Peacock Women's Basketball team returned to action Saturday afternoon when they visited Wayne, Neb. to entertain the #7-ranked Wildcats of Wayne State in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tilt. The Peacocks had upset on their minds in the first half and only trailed by three at halftime, but WSC used a big second half to take the matchup, 80-42.

Upper Iowa rushed out to a 5-0 lead within the first minute of the contest and extended their lead to six on two different occasions in the first half. However, Wayne State fought through cold shooting to take the lead just before halftime and took a slim three point lead, 27-24, into the locker room at the break.

Otting paced UIU with 10 points on four-of-four shooting while McKean chipped in five. Upper Iowa shot 45.5% from the floor which included a three-of-five clip from beyond the three-point arc in the first half of action while Wayne State managed just 30.8% shooting. Outside of shooting percentages, the only other real difference on the stats sheet was in favor of the Wildcats as the home team held a 21-13 advantage over UIU on the boards and a lopsided 11-3 margin on the offensive glass.

Out of the halftime break, Wayne State went on a 22-2 run over the first nine minutes of the second half and managed to outscore UIU 53-18 in the second half of action to win the game, 80-42.

Otting's 10 first-half points led UIU in scoring for the contest while WSC's Ashley Arlen and Eva Benson each dropped in 14 points to lead all scorers. Wayne State outrebounded UIU 42-31 while the Peacocks committed 20 turnovers to the Wildcats' 11.

The Peacocks will continue their current four-game road trip next Friday when they visit Marshall, Minn. for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State. UIU defeated SMSU earlier this season, 53-49, in Fayette on December 18.