The Peacock women's basketball team earned their first win over the Wildcats of Wayne State College on Friday night in Fayette. Upper Iowa used a 22-point fourth quarter to break free from a defensive slugfest with their guests. UIU had lost the first twenty meetings between the two teams prior to their 55-48 victory on Prochaska Court. With the win, Upper Iowa improves to 5-14 on the year and 4-9 in the Northern Sun, while Wayne State drops to 11-7 overall and 8-5 in the conference.
The Peacocks took a slim 33-31 lead into the final quarter with both defenses dictating the pace of play through the first thirty minutes of the game. The Wildcats took a pair of two-point leads early in the fourth, but a three-pointer from
Aleesha Cleaver put the Peacocks back on top, 38-37, with just over six minutes to play. Two lay-ins for
Carly Pagel and a jumper at the elbow by
Sam Ofstad helped the home team to maintain their slight advantage, 44-43, with two and a half minutes to play.
Whitney Kieffer, the all-time leader in points at Upper Iowa, nailed a three-pointer with a minute and a half to play giving the Peacocks a four-point lead, 47-43. After a WSC free throw, Kieffer shook her defender and knocked in a second trifecta from the right wing to push Upper Iowa out to a six-point lead, 50-44. UIU salted the game away at the free throw line converting five of their last six shots at the charity stripe to claim a 55-48 win.
The Peacock offense played deliberate and patient during the first quarter making six of their ten shots, while limiting the Wildcats' extra opportunities to take a 13-7 lead into the second quarter. Wayne State opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run over the first five minutes taking a 14-13 lead midway through the frame. When the dust settled at the end of the quarter, Upper Iowa had done just enough to grasp onto a 19-18 lead at halftime. Eight players scored in the first half for UIU with Pagel and
Haley Martin leading the way thanks to their four points each.
Midway through the third quarter, Upper Iowa trailed by a point, 22-21, when Head Coach
Carol Russell made an adjustment to sit Cleaver into the middle of the Wayne State zone and it paid off. Cleaver scored 10 straight points for the Peacocks including three layups and four free throws keeping the home team right with their competition. While UIU's offense was running through Cleaver, the WSC guards kept finding Anna Martensen for transition layups as the Wildcats got out on the loose for a few possessions. Pagel scored the final points of the quarter giving Upper Iowa their two-point lead heading into the final frame.
UIU had three scorers in double figures led by Cleaver's 17 points, while Kieffer added 13 and Pagel chipped in 10.
Sarah Benson, who gave the home team a spark in the second quarter, collected 9 rebounds including 3 on the offensive end. Ofstad handed out 6 assists to go with her 6 points. The Peacocks took care of the ball on the night as well turning it over only 8 times.
Upper Iowa will return to Prochaska Court in Fayette on Saturday evening at 4 p.m. for a match up against the Vikings of Augustana University.
