Minnesota State University, Mankato tipped off their 2015-16 women's basketball home schedule with a 75-54 victory over Upper Iowa.  The Mavericks controlled the action in the first and third quarters outscoring their guests 22-10 and 22-11 in the half-opening frames.  The Peacocks outscored their hosts by two points, 33-31, in the second and fourth quarters, but the hole was too deep to recover.  MSU improves to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Northern Sun Conference, while UIU falls to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
 
The Mavericks jumped on the Peacocks early forcing three turnovers and just one made field goal in nine tries over the first five minutes.  While UIU's offense searched for a spark to start the engine, Minnesota State's offense was in gear knocking down six of their first eight shots to take a 15-2 lead.  Upper Iowa answered the rough start with an 8-0 run highlighted by three-pointers from Blake Bergren and Aleesha Cleaver to pull within five, 15-10, but the home team closed out the frame strongly to claim the 22-10 lead at the buzzer.
 
Carly Pagel led the visitors in the second quarter as the Peacocks chipped away at the margin.  After a scoreless first quarter, UIU's junior center scored eight points including three straight possessions with layups.  UIU cut the gap to four points, 24-20, just two minutes into the quarter, but MSU pushed it back to fourteen, 34-20, thanks to a 10-0 run.  The Peacocks found their stride again behind Pagel and cut the gap back to eight points, 36-28, at the break.
 
The game of runs continued in the third quarter as the home team opened the period with an 18-3 run over the first six and a half minutes to extend their lead to 54-31.  UIU knocked down just one field goal in the quarter, a three-pointer from Sam Ofstad, adding eight free throw makes to account for their 11 points.  At the end of the quarter, the Mavericks had a 58-39 lead.
 
A layup from Cleaver with just over four minutes to play in the final quarter cut the lead to fourteen, 64-50, but the Peacocks would not get any closer as MSU outscored UIU 11-4 over the final four minutes to post the 75-54 decision.
 
The Mavericks shot 45.6% from the floor and converted 17 of their 19 free throws, while the Peacocks converted only 25.4% of their shots from the floor and 15 of their 26 attempts at the charity stripe.  Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball as each posted 18 turnovers.
 
Britney Scherber led three Mavericks in double figure scoring with 22 points, while McKenzie Hoelmenn recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Cleaver and Pagel each netted 14 points to lead Upper Iowa, while Sam Ofstad chipped in 8.  Pagel pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds and Whitney Kieffer added 6.  Cleaver handed out 4 assists on the night.
 
Upper Iowa will be back on the court at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  The Peacocks will travel to St. Paul, Minn. to face the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul.