A big third quarter by the Griffons of Missouri Western State University provided the visitors the breathing space they needed to fend off a defensive-minded Peacock women's basketball squad on Saturday in Fayette. The two teams met on Prochaska Court to wrap up the MIAA/NSIC Tournament hosted by UIU.
 
For the second night in a row, the home team defense played well holding their opponent under 70 points, but turnovers continue to limit the UIU offense. The Griffons posted a 65-49 victory to improve to 2-0 and drop the Peacocks to 0-2 on the season.
 
Freshman Natalie Dinius scored a team-high 15 points thanks to four field goals and six makes at the charity stripe. Junior Blair Klostermann added 9, while freshmen Savannah Domeyer and Courtney Schnoor converted 8 points a piece in the post.
 
Upper Iowa shot nearly 43% from the floor, but had almost as many turnovers (31) as field goal attempts (35). The Peacock scorers had to create on their own or get a bucket on a rebound as the team only registered 6 assists in the game. The 31 miscues provided the Griffons with the opportunity to take 32 more shots than the Peacocks.
 
MWSU jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter, but the Peacocks closed the period on a 5-0 run thanks to a Klostermann three-pointer and a lay-up by Schnoor. The Griffons pushed their lead to 26-16 midway through the second quarter, but UIU was able to shave a couple points off the margin to set the halftime score at 33-25.
 
The Griffons did their damage in the third quarter building their lead to 19 points, 52-33. MWSU used a 19-4 run that lasted six and a half minutes fueled by seven UIU turnovers in that span. The fourth quarter began where the third quarter left off as the Griffons pushed their lead to 23 points, 61-38, with six minutes to play. UIU's defense dug in and played hard to the final buzzer allowing just four points over the final six minutes while cutting into the Griffon lead setting the final score at 65-49.
 
The Peacocks will have two days to prepare for a third non-conference matchup on Tuesday night, Nov. 14 in Fayette. Upper Iowa will host Clarke University at 7 p.m. in Dorman Gymnasium.