Box Score Photo Gallery
Records
Upper Iowa (3-5, 2-2 NSIC) || Southwest Minnesota State (2-6, 0-4 NSIC)
Recap
Thanks to a red-hot shooting performance in the first half of Friday night's game against visiting Southwest Minnesota State, the Upper Iowa Women's Basketball team continued their dominant play inside Dorman Gym this season. The Peacocks – who were led by
Whitney Kieffer's game-high 23 points – improved to 2-0 at home against NSIC foes and snapped a two-game losing streak as they defeated the Mustangs, 68-60.
En route to their best first half of the 2013 season, the Peacocks shot an eye-popping 62-percent from the floor and scored a season-high 44 points in the first 20 minutes. Kieffer had 15 of those points thanks to near perfect shooting (6-of-7).
Kieffer was the spark to the Peacocks quick start. UIU jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the game thanks to a 12-0 run in a little over three minutes. Kieffer had five of those points as she hit a pull-up jumper in the lane and a three from the left wing. She also found
Sam Thrapp for an open three in transition at the 14:09 mark in the first half.
The Mustangs sandwiched a pair of Upper Iowa field goals as they attacked the Peacock defense in the lane. A bucket from Hannah Beeler cut the UIU lead to nine, 24-15, at the 11:18 mark, but four-straight points from
Lindsay Carroll and a steal plus a fast-break layup from Kieffer put the Peacocks back up by 13, 30-17, midway through the first half.
The Mustangs responded with a 12-6 run that started with an Ellen Degler jumper in the lane and ended with a Bree Holleman three from the corner. The run helped SMSU pull within eight points of their hosts, 37-29, with 4:17 remaining before halftime.
The Peacocks did falter though as they outscored their guests, 7-5, in the final four minutes to take a 44-34 lead into the break. UIU hit 15-of-24 field goals in the first period and all four of their three-point attempts.
Despite its strong first half, Upper Iowa had a sputtering start to the second half as the Mustangs slowly chipped away at the lead. A three and then an 8-foot jumper from Alison Nagel capped an eight-minute, 14-7 spurt for SMSU as the Mustangs pulled within three points, 51-48, at the 12-minute mark.
Emily Gustafson and Bree Holleman exchanged solo free throws before
Carly Pagel earned five-straight points thanks to a three-point play the old-fashioned way and a pair of free throws. Kieffer added to the run with a layup off the glass to give UIU a 58-49 lead with 6:46 left in regulation.
Nagel provided an answer for SMSU on the other end with a wide-open three from the top of the key before Holleman hit a transition jumper to keep the Mustangs within four points, 58-54. That was when the Peacocks took over.
UIU scored 10 straight points thanks to four free throws and a layup from Kieffer, a jumper from
Lauren Buck and a layup from Carroll. Buck, who picked up two fouls early and saw just eight minutes of action in the first half, got things going in the final 20 minutes as she finished with 11 points and 7 boards.
Finally, Beeler broke SMSU's scoreless streak with a free throw, but it was still a four-minute and 15 second drought for the visitors. The Mustangs recorded two final buckets before the final buzzer sounded, but it wasn't enough. The Peacocks had a big enough lead to seal the 68-60 victory at home.
UIU Standouts
Kieffer (23 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal), Buck (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block), Pagel (11 points, 5 rebounds), Carroll (10 points, 4 rebounds).
Stat of the Game
For the second straight game, the Peacocks won the rebounding battle by 13. UIU outrebounded the Mustangs, 40-27.
Sounding Off
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach Adam Esses After the Game…
On Whitney's Big Game... "Everyone contributed tonight, but obviously,
Whitney Kieffer is our go-to player. She was coming off a couple tough games on the road, yet tonight I felt like she got going early thanks to our transition game. She was a big spark for us, but really our entire team came out with great energy and they really got into it tonight."
On the Second Half... "Getting a lead at halftime was the key tonight. They made some second-half adjustments in terms of what they were doing defensively. Both offenses really slowed down, but we kept up our defense in the second half. They had eight offensive rebounds in the first half and we were able to limit them to just two after halftime. Being able to do that in a tight game, against a good opponent was encouraging to see."
Other Standouts... "Our post players were also a big reason we got the win tonight. After a solid weekend last week,
Carly Pagel showed why she was the NSIC Freshman of the Year last year – she played really well offensively and defensively. Playing limited minutes,
Lauren Buck was another big factor tonight – she does a great job rebounding and even though she got into foul trouble, she still managed to score 11 points."
On Playing Sioux Falls..."We've played them down to the wire each time over the past two years – every time it's a one-possession game. They're coming off a tough loss to Winona, so I know they'll be jacked up to play us. At home last year in particular, we were down one with the ball and we couldn't get the shot to go down – that's partly on our minds. Ultimately, we know that we're able to match up well with them, we just have to execute."
Up Next
The Peacocks will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season as they host the Cougars of Sioux Falls inside Dorman Gym on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
