A night after the Peacocks saw a game get away in the second half, Upper Iowa took over Prochaska Court in the final twenty minutes on Saturday night to post a 74-56 win over Bemidji State University. UIU used a balanced scoring attack and an aggressive defense to pull away from their guests. Thanks to a 44-29 advantage on the glass, the home team was able to limit the Beavers opportunities and came away with the big win. With the win, Upper Iowa improved to 6-14 overall and 4-12 in the NSIC, while Bemidji State fell to 5-16 overall and 2-14 in the conference.
The teams exchanged big runs in the first half with Upper Iowa taking the first one to improve their advantage to nine thanks to an 8-0 run that put the Peacocks ahead 18-9. The Beavers answered with an 8-0 run of their own highlighted by a pair of three-pointers pulling within one. UIU took their turn in succession using a 9-2 run fueled by five free throws to take a 27-19 lead with just over five minutes to play. The home team pushed their lead to a high of ten points, 34-24, with two minutes on the clock, but Bemidji State closed the half on a 6-0 run to close the gap to just four points at the break.
Bemidji State picked up where they left off to open the second half taking a one-point lead, 35-34, after five quick points. Upper Iowa regrouped following a timeout and retook a 45-39 lead as they outscored the Beavers 11-4 over a four and a half minute span. The Peacocks began to slowly move away from Bemidji as the long-range shooters began to dial in the range from deep.
Laura TerHark hit a pair of trifectas and
Ashley Rosenstiel found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc as well. As the teams headed to their respective benches for the final media timeout of the second half, Upper Iowa held a 65-54 lead.
Upper Iowa's aggressive, half-court defense continued to pay dividends. The team forced their opponents into tough shots and when Bemidji State did get a free look, UIU made sure that it was their only look of the possession as they controlled the defensive glass. The home team outscored the Beavers 9-2 over the final minutes of the game to set the final margin at eighteen, 74-56.
Four Peacocks reached double figures in the game led by
Lauren Buck, who scored 16 and registered her thirteenth double-double of the season by adding 13 rebounds.
Lindsay Carroll netted 14 points with a pair of three-pointers, while adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Olivia Meier (pictured above) scored 13 points and grabbed 7 boards and
Olivia Winkler dropped in 10 points.
Ashley Rosenstiel played well off the bench with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
As a team, the Peacocks registered advantages in points off turnovers (20-10), second chance points (14-4) and fastbreak points (11-2).
The Peacocks will be on the road for the first of two straight weekends away from Fayette next week. Upper Iowa will travel to the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday, Feb. 7, and St. Cloud State University on Saturday, Feb. 8, for the team's final Northern Sun Conference cross-divisional games.
