Upper Iowa pulled off a big upset on the road against the Concordia University, St. Paul Golden Bears on Friday night, 88-79. Led by three seniors, who all set new career-highs in points, and nearly perfect shooting at the free throw line, the Peacocks led for all but 54 seconds of the game to post their the nine-point win. UIU improved to 7-16 overall and 5-14 in the NSIC, while Concordia fell to 14-11 and 10-9 in the conference.
With her 5 rebounds on Friday,
Lauren Buck has become the new Upper Iowa record holder for rebounds in a single-season with 256. Hall of Famer Vicky (Ringenberg) Rarick held the record prior to this evening with 252 during the 1996-97 season. Buck added 9 points for the Peacocks.
Olivia Winkler,
Lindsay Carroll and
Olivia Meier all posted career-highs in points on the night combining to net 72 of UIU's 88 points. Winkler scored 28 and Carroll poured in 27, while Meier chipped in 17 points. The trio made the most of frequent trips to the charity stripe as well. As a team, the Peacocks converted 36 of 40 attempts at the line including 29 of 33 shooting in the second half alone. Carroll made 16 of 17, while Winkler put home 12 of her 14 shots and Meier knocked down all 5 of her attempts.
Concordia only earned 10 free throws on the night and only forced the Peacock offense into 10 turnovers which limited the Golden Bears easy buckets. The Golden Bears turned to their leader Anika Whiting time and time again and the senior produced. Whiting scored 30 points to lead all scorers and also pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Golden Bears only lead of the night came at 7-6 just a little over two minutes into the game, but a layup by Winkler gave the lead back to the Peacocks and they never gave it back again. Upper Iowa's biggest lead in the first half of 12 points came on two occasions; the second one came on a Buck lay up with just over six minutes to play. Trailing 31-19, the Golden Bears made a push at the Peacocks heading into the locker room thanks to a 13-4 run over the final minutes to pull within three at the break, 35-32.
Upper Iowa reestablished their control with a 14-4 run to open the second half regaining a 49-36 advantage. Concordia never got closer than six points and each time the Peacocks were able to extend their lead back into double digits.
The Peacocks will face the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn. on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
