Upper Iowa rallied in the second half tonight but came up short against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State in the teams’ first NSIC rematch of the season. SMSU outscored UIU 35-22 in the first half, but the Peacocks rallied with in the second half outscoring their hosts 37-28. The road team came up four points shy dropping the contest 63-59. 

 

The Peacocks had control of the first ten minutes of the ballgame leading 17-13 with 10:16 on the clock and still led by one, 19-18, with just over eight minutes to play. But over the final eight minutes, the Mustangs outscored their guests 17-3 including a seven-minute scoreless stretch for UIU. The Peacocks only points in the final eight minutes came on a three-point play by Jeri Jacobson with 1:19 showing on the clock.

 

A 10-1 run midway through the second period fueled by six points from Lana Otting pulled the Peacocks back with five, 43-38, with 9:11 to play in the game.  SMSU retaliated with a quick 9-0 run of their own retaking a 14-point advantage with six and a half minutes to play. Upper Iowa put one last rally on the board in the final minute as they outscored the Mustangs 10-5 in the final 60 seconds.

 

The Peacock offense shot the ball much better in the second half hitting on 52% of their shots compared to the 27% they hit in the first twenty minutes. UIU converted 5 of their 8 attempts from behind the arc in the second half as well.

 

Lyndsay Westgaard and Otting each netted 13 points, while Jacobson added 11. Heidi McKean pulled in 9 rebounds and added 5 assists and 8 points. 

 

UIU (1-17, 1-13 NSIC) will be back on the floor at Minnesota State University, Mankato tomorrow for another NSIC matchup. The Peacocks and Mavericks will tip off at 4 p.m.