The Peacock women's basketball team came out hot Saturday evening in Marshall, Minn. building a 17-point lead early in their NSIC-tilt with Southwest Minnesota State University.  The home team erased the lead down to just three points at halftime, but Upper Iowa was able to slowly pull away in the second half, 82-75. 

Upper Iowa used a balanced scoring attack to secure their sixth straight win over Southwest Minnesota State, which goes back to January of 2012.  Lauren Buck registered her third double-double in the last four games with 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Olivia Winkler and Lindsay Carroll each added 18 points and Olivia Meier chipped in 12.  Aleesha Cleaver nearly made it five in double figures on the night with 9 points.  Carroll added 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Cleaver led the team in passing with 4 helpers.

The Peacocks jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and didn't let up in the early going.  A three-pointer from the hand of Carroll gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 26-9, at the 6:44 mark of the first half.  SMSU began to find their stride as they forced four UIU turnovers and held their guests to just seven points over the final minutes while scoring 21 themselves.  The Mustang run closed the gap to just three, 33-30, at the halftime break.

Southwest Minnesota State cut the lead to one point on three occassions in the opening minutes of the second half, but Upper Iowa never let go of the lead pushing out to an eight-point advantage, 47-39, six minutes in.  Midway through the half, the home team was once again within one, 53-52, but UIU answered with a 12-4 run fueled by five points apiece from Carroll and Buck.  After one final push by the Mustangs, Upper Iowa got their lead back into double digits, 79-69, with just over a minute to play.

UIU shot 51.9% (27-52) from the floor although they struggled beyond the arc knocking in only 3 of their 11 attempts.  The visitors made their hay at the charity stripe where they converted 25 of 29 attempts and held an 18-point advantage in free throw makes.  The free throw line was the equalizer for Upper Iowa as the Mustangs still forced them into 19 turnovers.

The Peacocks (3-4, 1-2 NSIC) will return to Fayette after notching their first NSIC win of the season.  UIU will host Minnesota State University, Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13 in Dorman Gymnasium.