The Peacock women's basketball team fought hard in a defensive slugfest against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University to post a 59-54 victory on Saturday in Fayette.  Upper Iowa converted at a better on the free throw and three-point lines to edge their guests in the Northern Sun Conference battle.  With the win, UIU improves to 2-7 overall and 1-2 against the NSIC, while SMSU falls to 1-7 and 0-3 in the conference.
 
Both teams had no problem putting points on the board in the first quarter as UIU took a slim 19-16 lead after the first ten minutes.  Sam Ofstad and Whitney Kieffer each scored 6 points in the frame and Carly Pagel added 5 to lead the Peacocks. 
 
After a score by the Mustangs to open the second quarter, Upper Iowa went on a 9-0 run over a two-minute span to push their lead to ten, 28-18.  The run was fueled by scores by four different players and a three-pointer by Aleesha Cleaver.  The home team still led 35-25 with three minutes to play in the half, but the Mustangs scored the only points over the final minutes to close the gap to six, 35-29, heading into the locker room.
 
Scoring came at a premium in the third quarter.  After seven minutes of action, the visitors had scored six points and the home team had four points on the board.  SMSU was the first team to make a move in the quarter using a 9-0 run that took five minutes off the clock to take a one-point lead, 40-39, with a minute and a half to play.  The Peacocks ended the drought on a pair of layups from Kieffer and Cleaver to retake the lead, 43-40.
 
SMSU cut the margin to one, 44-43, early in the quarter, but UIU answered and pushed their lead to six thanks to four points from Pagel and two from Cleaver.  The Mustangs wouldn't go away though cutting the lead to two on several occasions in the final minutes.  Thanks to an energy boost from Sarah Benson, the Peacocks were able to keep pressure on their guests and fight off any comeback attempts.  On offense, Cleaver put the team on her back and scored 9 of UIU's final 11 points in the final five minutes of the game.
 
Hope Bonlander led the Mustangs with 26 points and 7 rebounds, while Lauren Hedlund dropped in 8 points.
 
Cleaver paced the Peacocks with 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Kieffer netted 17 points and pulled down 6 boards.  Pagel added 9 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
 
Upper Iowa will be on the road next weekend for a pair of NSIC games.  The Peacocks will take on Minnesota State University, Mankato on Friday at 6 p.m. and Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday at 4 p.m.