Box Score Box Score
UIU led MSU 34-30 heading into the locker room but were outscored 51-23 in the second half as Minnesota State, Mankato went on to a 81-57 victory. The Mavericks shot over 51% (18-35) in the last 20 minutes to just over 30% (10-33) from the Peacocks. With the loss, Upper Iowa has now lost five straight and falls to 3-6 overall including 0-3 in Northern Sun play. Minnesota State remains undefeated at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC.
The first half was one of runs for both teams as the Peacocks started hot and stormed out to an early 5-0 lead in the Bresnan Arena. The score went back and forth as there were three lead changes in the first four minutes of play. The hosts then began to assert themselves and went on a 13-3 run of their own to take an 11 point lead, 23-12 with just under ten minutes to go. Back came UIU though. They used a 16-1 run over the final 7 minutes and went into the locker room with a four-point advantage, 34-30.
Just over two minutes into the second half, the contest would see its fourth and final tie at 40-40 before MSU took the lead and would never give it back to Upper Iowa. They would lead by as many as 24 as they did in the final score.
Leading the way for the Peacocks was
Whitney Kieffer with 21 points to go with 9 rebounds. The other scorer in double figures for UIU was
Carly Pagel for the second night in a row as she scored 12 points and brought down 7 boards. Setting the tone for the offensive attack was
Lindsay Carroll who had a team high four assists as well as eight points and nine rebounds.
On the other end of things, leading the way for Minnesota State as she has all season was Ali Wilkinson. She tallied a double-double just in the first half and finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass. The Mavericks had four others score in double figures as well. Those four scorers were Jamie bresnahan (14), Karlee Gengenbacher (13), Aubrey Davis (12), and Alli Hoefer (10).
Next up, UIU returns home for the first time in conference play. On December 14, Upper Iowa will square off against the Wildcats of Wayne State College with tipoff set for 6 p.m. The next day, the Vikings of Augustana College come to town with that game slated to start at 4 p.m.
