Upper Iowa's offense went cold in the second half of Friday's NSIC road tilt at the University of Sioux Falls. After 16 first quarter points, the Peacocks managed just 25 over the remaining three quarters as they fell 74-41 to the Cougars. UIU drops to 1-12 overall and 1-8 in the Northern Sun, while USF improves to 11-2 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
UIU jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead thanks to a three-pointer from
Sam Ofstad and two layups from
Carly Pagel. USF still trailed 9-6, but used a 7-0 run to take a 13-9 lead fueled by five points from Alyson Johnsen. UIU answered with a 5-0 run thanks to an
Ashley Ray triple and a third basket in the paint from Pagel, but the Cougars battled back for a 17-16 lead at the quarter break.
The home team pushed their lead to five with a pair of scores to open the second quarter. After UIU cut the margin back to one, 21-20, the Cougars went on a 12-1 run that lasted three and a half minutes highlighted by three straight layups and a pair of three-pointers around a free throw from Ray to extend their lead to 33-21. The teams exchanged baskets over the remaining minutes, but
Haley Martin converted a layup with just three seconds to play to set the halftime margin at ten, 37-27, for Sioux Falls.
A 13-2 run late in the third quarter expanded the lead to 19 points, 52-33. USF put the game away with a 16-0 run that started with the final basket of the third quarter and lasted until a pair of Pagel free throws went down with just over two minutes to play. The Cougars held the Peacocks scoreless for eight minutes of game action. UIU's five points in the final quarter all came at the free throw line while the team missed all 15 of their attempts from the floor.
UIU shot just 3 of 27 in the second half going ice cold from the field. The Peacocks knocked down 7 of their 12 opportunities in the first quarter, but began to cool off in the second when just 5 of 16 shots fell.
Pagel led the Peacocks with 12 points, while
Blair Klostermann added 10 and 6 rebounds.
Sam Ofstad chipped in 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Sioux Falls had four scorers in double figures led by Madi Robson, who scored 14. Jacey Huinker scored 7, but pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Cougars.
Upper Iowa will face off against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday in Marshall, Minn. at 5 p.m.
