The Peacock women's basketball team struggled in the first quarter in their 73-49 loss Saturday night to the Wayne State Wildcats in Wayne, Neb. UIU was outscored 31-7 in the first quarter and was unable to recover, despite outscoring the Wildcats by five in the second half.
 
At the 7:28 mark of the first quarter, senior Aleesha Cleaver hit a jumper that made it 6-5, Wildcats. Wayne State finished the opening quarter on a 25-2 run, outscoring the Peacocks 13-0 in points off turnovers.
 
Upper Iowa opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run, outscoring their first half point total in the first three minutes of quarter number two. WSC then closed the quarter on a 14-4 run and the Peacocks trailed 47-18 at half.
 
The Peacocks won the third quarter, 14-12, with freshman Karlee Grabau scoring six straight UIU points in middle of the period. Upper Iowa outscored their hosts 17-14 in the fourth quarter as Cleaver scored seven and senior Whitney Kieffer poured in six.
 
Kieffer led the Peacocks with 18 points and nine rebounds. Cleaver finished with 13 points and a team-high three steals and two assists, while Grabau added six points and six rebounds.
 
Upper Iowa will head to Moorhead, Minn. to take on the MSU Moorhead for its first round game of the 2016 NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.