Upper Iowa traveled to Liberty, Mo. for a Sunday matinee against the Cardinals of William Jewell College.  The Cardinals took advantage of a big run to open the second half on the way to a 79-63 victory over the Peacocks.  With the loss, UIU falls to 1-4 on the season with one non-conference game remaining before moving into NSIC play.  William Jewell improved to 2-5 this year.
 
The Peacocks came out of the gates well knocking in a pair of three-pointers in the first three minutes to jump out to an early 8-5 lead.  After William Jewell tied the game at 13-13 with a minute and a half to play in the quarter, Upper Iowa scored five of the final seven points to take an 18-15 lead at the buzzer.  UIU's largest lead in the frame came when Sam Ofstad hit the team's third triple to give the visitors an 18-13 advantage.
 
Upper Iowa's offense went quiet during the second quarter as the team scored only 13 points.  While the offense struggled, the defense kept the Peacocks in the game allowing only 20 points to the Cardinals.  The home team held a four-point lead, 35-31, as the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.
 
The offensive woes continued into the third quarter for Upper Iowa as William Jewell held the Peacocks scoreless for the first three minutes while netting three shots to extend their lead to eleven, 42-31, after the first three possessions of the second half.  Whitney Kieffer knocked a three-pointer to break the drought, but William Jewell continued to push and moved their lead to thirteen points, 54-41, with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. A layup from Aleesha Cleaver and a jumper from Ofstad cut the lead to nine, but the Cardinals wouldn't let momentum move to the Peacocks.  WJC put three shots through the net in the final minute to bring a 65-51 lead into the final quarter.
 
The margin opened up to twenty points, 71-51, as Upper Iowa once again couldn't find the bottom of the net in the first four minutes of the quarter.  The Peacocks launched one last run trying to get back in the game and cut the gap to eleven, 74-63, thanks to a 12-3 run fueled by six points from Cleaver and four points from Madi Meier.  Unfortunately for the Peacocks, the team didn't score in the final 2:52 of the game as the Cardinals converted five free throws in the final minutes to secure the 79-63 win.
 
William Jewell was led by Maddie Nelson and Logan Antenen, who scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.  Chris Keys came off the bench to post a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Cleaver had a team-high 17 points for UIU, while Kieffer added 16 and Meier netted 10.  Ofstad added 9 points and Carly Pagel scored 7.  Pagel and Cleaver led the Peacocks on the boards with 5 apiece.  Cleaver also tallied 3 assists and a pair of steals.  The Peacocks struggled at the free throw line in Liberty converting only 15 of their 30 opportunities.
 
The Peacocks will host a pair of games this week.  Upper Iowa welcomes the Bulldogs of Truman State University on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. and the Warriors of Winona State University on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m. to kick off their NSIC schedule.