The Peacock women's basketball team took to Prochaska Court for their first NSIC home game of the season against the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato. After trailing by four points at halftime, the Peacocks came out strong in the second half building a lead to as much as nine points, but the visitors rallied and took a two-point lead with less than a minute to play. A pair of clutch free throws from
Aleesha Cleaver tied the game at 63-63 and the game moved into overtime. In the exta period, the Mavericks outscored their hosts 17-12 to claim the NSIC victory and improve to 6-2 and 3-0 in the conference. The tough loss drops UIU's record to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the NSIC.
Lauren Buck led all scorers with 28 points and added a team-high 11 rebounds.
Olivia Winkler poured in 15 points and tallied 10 rebounds, while Cleever rounded out the double-digit scorers for UIU with 11. The Mavericks were led by Sammie Delzotto, who had 20 points, while Lexie Ulfers added 17 points and 13 boards.
The Peacocks jumped out to an early five-point lead, 15-10, six minutes into the game thanks in large part to a pair of three-pointers in the first minute of the game.
Laura TerHark and Buck hit back-to-back trifectas to start UIU's night on offense. The Mavericks outscored their hosts 24-10 over the next ten minutes to claim a nine-point advantage, 34-25, with just under five minutes to play in the half. Late in the half, a trifecta from Buck cut the gap to just four points, but Upper Iowa had to settle for a six-point margin at the break, 40-34, after scoring only two points in the final two minutes.
Upper Iowa fired on all cylinders coming out of the locker room. The home team held their guests to just five points over the first twelve minutes of the half. While the Peacock defense was stout, the offense was fluid and potent. UIU stormed back to take a nine-point lead, 54-45, after putting 20 points on the board in the same time. During the 20-5 run, Buck poured in 10 points, while
Olivia Meier netted 5 including a deep three from the top of the key. The Maverick offense finally broke through and raced back into the game thanks to a 10-0 run that spanned less than two minutes and gave MSU the lead.
UIU reclaimed a slim lead and held it until the final minute when an Aubrey Davis runner in the lane gave the Mavericks a two-point lead, 63-61. Cleaver took the ball to the hoop on the ensuing possession, and after getting her own miss twice, the junior was fouled. Cleaver calmly stepped to the line and converted both free throws with 19 seconds to play to tie the game. Both teams got shots at the game winner, but neither fell and the contest moved into overtime.
MSU moved out to a four-point advantage, 73-69, midway through the period, but another Buck three-pointer brought UIU within one. Unfortunately, the deep ball was the last score for UIU until a layup squeezed in just before the final buzzer. In between the two makes, the Mavericks scored seven points, five of which came at the charity stripe.
Minnesota State dominated the paint scoring a 42-24 advantage inside. The Mavericks also took advantage of their transition game posting a 14-2 advantage in fast break points.
Upper Iowa will be back on the court in Dorman Gymnasium tomorrow evening at 4 p.m. as they welcome Concordia University, St. Paul.
