Box Score
Upper Iowa erased a seventeen-point deficit in the second half to push the NSIC South leading Golden Bears of Concordia University to the final seconds. The Peacocks outscored their guests 28-12 over a thirteen and a half minute stretch to pull within one point in the final minute of play. UIU took the last shot of the game, but it didn't find the net as Concordia escaped town with a 67-66 win. With the loss, the Peacocks drop to 7-20 overall and 4-16 in the conference.
After the Peacocks jumped out to a 5-2 lead early on, the Golden Bears began to catch up tying the score, 15-15, nine minutes into the game. Concordia used a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to move out to a 27-17 advantage. While UIU was able to cut the margin to six, CU pushed out to their largest lead, 39-25, with just under two minutes to play. Upper Iowa scored five of the final seven points before the buzzer to head to the locker room trailing 41-30.
The Golden Bears used the first six minutes to push their advantage to seventeen, 54-37, but UIU's offense got cooking and the Peacock pressure defense forced the visitors into tough shots. Over the final fourteen minutes, UIU scored 29 points including nine points from Whitney Kieffer. The Golden Bears were able to lock down Kieffer holding the Peacock scoring leader without any points over the final seven minutes of the contest.
The Peacocks took the ball at midcourt with nine seconds to play and point guard Sam Thrapp took the final shot that did not find it's mark as Thrapp drove the lane. The buzzer sounded on the rebound and Concordia left Dorman Gym with the 67-66 win.
Kieffer scored 18 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and added 4 assists and 3 steals. Thrapp scored 15 and handed out 4 assists on the night. Jen Herrick and Chelsea Garcia played their final game on Prochaska Court this evening. Herrick scored 2 points and added 5 assists, while Garcia netted 8 points and snared 3 rebounds.
Upper Iowa will head west for their final two NSIC regular season games. The Peacocks will play at Augustana on Friday and then travel to Wayne State on Saturday before heading into the conference tournament.
