With three and a half minutes to play, the Peacocks trailed the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University by five points. Upper Iowa closed the game out on a 15-2 run to win their ninth straight over SMSU, 69-61.  The victory improved UIU's record to 4-11 overall and 3-6 in the Northern Sun, while SMSU drops to 3-12 overall and 1-8 in the conference.

The Peacocks forced their hosts into 23 turnovers including 15 steals; Upper Iowa took advantage of the miscues scoring 19 points off turnovers including 11 in the final quarter.  Upper Iowa also claimed the paint for their own outscoring SMSU 38-16 in the lane.

The Mustangs jumped on the Peacocks in the first quarter taking an early 18-10 lead, but Upper Iowa bounced back thanks to a dominant second quarter.  UIU outscored their guests 23-13 in the second to tie the game at 31-31 as the teams went to the locker rooms.  A 15-2 run over the first half of the second quarter not only erased a 10-point defecit, but also gave the Peacocks a 5-point lead, 25-20.  The Mustangs found their balance and fought back to tie the game at 31-31 with the last bucket of the half.

SMSU built a slim third quarter lead of three points and grew the advantage to five points, 59-54, with three and a half minutes to play.  Upper Iowa used their second 15-2 run of the game to rally and secure the victory.  The game-winning run was fueled by three layups from Sam Ofstad, Carly Pagel and Karlee Grabau as well as nine-of-ten shooting at the free throw line.

Upper Iowa had four players reach double figures led by Ofstad's 18 points. Aleesha Cleaver and Carly Pagel both scored 15 and Whitney Kieffer netted 14 points.  Kieffer led all players with a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double and added a pair of assists and 4 steals.  

The Peacocks will move on to the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday for a game against the Cougars at 4 p.m.