The Peacock women's basketball team trailed by 12 points at halftime to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Saturday night inside Romano Gymnasium in Duluth, Minn. After pulling within four points in the third quarter, the home team stretched the lead back out to defeat Upper Iowa 85-65 in an NSIC cross-division battle. With the loss, UIU drops to 2-14 overall and 2-10 in the Northern Sun, while the win improves UMD to 10-6 overall and 8-4 in league play.
 
The first quarter, like Friday night at St. Cloud State, was a one-point affair. Both teams traded early punches, with the home team leading 7-2 early on. UIU sandwiched a Blair Klostermann layup in between three-pointers by Haley Martin and Sam Ofstad to erase the early deficit, and with 2:54 remaining the score was tied at 11 apiece. Carly Pagel connected inside and Blake Bergren followed up with a three to give the Peacocks a 16-14 lead. With 19 seconds left in the frame, UMD's Kenzie Kane connected on a triple to give the home team the 17-16 lead after the first ten minutes.
 
After a solid offensive effort in the first quarter, it was the Bulldogs who started to find ways to score on their end of the floor. Minnesota Duluth outscored Upper Iowa 25-14 in the second frame to stretch out a 12-point halftime lead. The Peacocks converted 45% of their shots in the first half (10-22), but totaled 10 turnovers and allowed 9 offensive rebounds to find themselves down double-digits.
 
The Peacocks opened up the third quarter on a high note. Klostermann scored 10 of the first 13 UIU points in the second half behind a pair of shots in the paint, an old fashioned three-point play, and a trifecta to get the offense going. Trailing 52-43, Pagel went to work inside and converted on a layup to get UIU within seven points. Martin converted on the next trip down to cut the deficit to five, but a pair of layups by the Bulldogs allowed the home team to lead by nine at the end of the third quarter.
 
UMD outscored the Peacocks 19-8 in the final frame to extend the lead out and put the game away, and the UIU offense went cold. Upper Iowa shot just 37% from the field in the second half, while the home team converted 52% of their opportunities.
 
Klostermann led the way for Upper Iowa with 16 points and 9 rebounds, and converted on 6-14 shooting. Ofstad, who although struggled from the field (2-10), finished with 10 points for the night. Martin and Pagel each contributed with 9 points apiece.
 
The Peacocks will return home for four straight games, beginning with a matchup with the Augustana Vikings on Friday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. in Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. UIU will host Wayne State College on Saturday, Jan. 21, with tip-off schedule for 4 p.m. Friday's game will be available in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.3, while Saturday's game will be on 9.2.