Box Score Photo Gallery

Records

Minot State (10-3, 6-3 NSIC) || Upper Iowa (4-9, 3-6 NSIC)

Recap

Minot State University shot over 57% from the floor and 50% from deep on Friday night as all five starters for the Beavers scored in double figures. The balanced scoring by Upper Iowa's guests spoiled a great night from senior point guard Sam Thrapp, who registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 assists. The Beavers took the victory by ten points, 77-67, to earn their tenth win of the season.

In the first half, Minot State took a few leads, but it seemed that Upper Iowa always had an answer to bring it back to a one-possession game. During the first twenty minutes, the Peacocks were outscored 22-12 in the paint, but stayed in the game thanks to an 11-2 advantage in bench scoring led by junior Laura TerHark. The Algona, Iowa native scored six points in the opening half thanks to a pair of three-pointers.

Late in the opening period, the Peacocks used a 7-2 run to drop an 8-point margin down to just 3 points, 35-32, with just under three minutes to play capped off by TerHark's second trifecta. The Beavers scored a layup on their ensuing possession, but neither team could put another point on the board over the final two and a half minutes.

During the second half, Minot State held the lead from start to finish, but the margin bounced between three and ten points. Each time the home team made a run and cut the gap to a one or two-possession margin, the Beavers would push it back out with precise passing and confident shooting. The offense ran through Thrapp and Whitney Kieffer (pictured above) in the second half. Kieffer netted 13 of her team-high 20 points in the final twenty minutes and Thrapp added 8 and assisted on 7 baskets.

At the final media timeout with 4:36 showing on the clock, the Peacocks trailed 69-63. Freshman Emily Gustafson pulled the home team within four when she converted a layup on a Thrapp assist with three and a half minutes to play. However, the UIU offense went cold over the final minutes as Minot State pulled away thanks to a 8-2 run that included six points from Christina Boag, who finished with a game-high 23 points.

The Peacocks did a decent job holding Carly Boag, the NSIC's leading scorer, to 14 points, but her sister Christina netted the 23 and the other three starters also notched more than 10 points apiece. Alisha Jones paced the offense with 11 points and 7 assists. Minot State recorded 27 assists on 31 field goals in the game.

UIU also was outrebounded for only the third time this season. MSU won the battle on the glass 31-27.

UIU Standouts

Thrapp... 14 points, 12 assists, 4 reb., 2 steals || Kieffer... 20 points, 3 steals || Lauren Buck... 8 points, 8 reb. || TerHark... 9 points, 2 assists

Next Up

The Peacocks will return to Prochaska Court Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. match up against the Marauders of the University of Mary.