The Peacock women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in Bemidji, Minn. on Saturday. The Beavers of Bemidji State University stole a 60-52 victory over Upper Iowa thanks to a late 14-0 run that covered nearly the entire fourth quarter. The loss dropped UIU's record 2-11 overall and 0-7 in the NSIC, while BSU improved to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
Upper Iowa took a three-point lead, 45-42, into the final quarter of the Northern Sun Conference affair. The Peacocks scored the first basket of the frame at the 9:17 mark as
Savannah Domeyer converted a layup to push UIU's advantage to five, 47-42. Both teams went scoreless for the next four and a half minutes, but the Beavers ended their streak with a layup at the 4:48 mark. The score initiated a 14-0 run as the BSU defense held their guests scoreless for nearly nine minutes on the game clock. The late run ended with 32 seconds to play when
Ashley Rosenstiel converted a pair of free throws, but the damage was done as the home team led 56-49. The teams exchanged points over the final seconds, but UIU suffered the 60-52 loss.
The fourth quarter was not the only quarter in which the Peacock offense struggled. Upper Iowa scored seven points in the second and fourth quarters, as opposed to the first and third quarters where the team scored 23 and 15 points, respectively.
In fact, the first five minutes of the game went as well as possible for the Peacocks. Upper Iowa held an early 17-5 lead with 5:01 showing on the clock; the team had four scorers contribute to the hot start. Unfortunately, the first five minutes did not foreshadow the rest of the game. After their 17 points in the opening 5 minutes, Upper Iowa only scored 35 points over the final 35 minutes.
UIU claimed a 23-15 lead heading into the second quarter, but trailed by one point on the way to the locker room at halftime. The Peacocks bounced back with a strong third quarter posting a 15-11 win during the ten-minute period. In fact, the third period started much the same way as the first. Upper Iowa came out of the break and took an 11-point lead fueled by a 13-1 run over the first three and a quarter minutes.
Leading 43-32 with 6:46 to play in the third quarter, the Peacock offense began to slow down. Over the final 17 minutes of the game, UIU made three field goals and turned the ball over 8 times. Bemidji State took advantage of the miscues and cold shooting to score the come-from-behind win after outscoring the Peacocks 28-9 over the final 17 minutes.
Ashley Ray converted 4 of her 5 shots to score 11, while
Blair Klostermann scored a team-high 12 points. Rosenstiel added 7 points, while Domeyer chipped in 6.
Angelica De Paulo added a team-high 7 rebounds.
Bemidji State was led by Brooklyn Bachman, 24 points, and Mikayla Larson, 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Upper Iowa will head west to Crookston, Minn. for their Saturday contest. The Peacocks will face the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston at 1:30 p.m. to close the 2017 calendar year.
