Upper Iowa lost a 67-59 Northern Sun Conference matchup against the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul on Friday night in Fayette. The Peacocks won the first, third and fourth quarters, but the Golden Bears dominated the second quarter and held on for an eight-point win. UIU falls to 2-8 overall and 0-4 in the conference, while CSP earned their first NSIC win (1-2) and improved to 3-5 overall.

Angelica De Paulo led the Peacocks with 22 off the bench converting 9 of her 12 attempts from the floor including three from beyond the arc. Natalie Dinius also reached double-figures with 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting with a pair of three-pointers. UIU's bench accounted for 42 of the team's 59 points thanks to De Paulo, Dinius, Emma Gaber (5), Bekka Pierson (3) and Courtney Schnoor (1).

After the Golden Bears took an early 3-0 lead, the Peacocks outscored their guests 13-6 over the remainder of the opening quarter. The game turned in the second frame when Concordia-St. Paul opened the quarter with a 20-5 run over a seven-minute span. The run put the visitors ahead by 11 with three and a half minutes to play. A pair of jumpers in the paint by De Paulo kept UIU within eight, but CSP went to the locker room with a 12-point halftime lead, 36-24.

The margin grew to a high of 17 points, 43-26, two and a half minutes into the third quarter, but Upper Iowa outscored the Golden Bears 16-8 over the remainder of the quarter. The Peacocks continued to cut into the lead as the fourth quarter opened and had the Golden Bears within striking distance, 51-47, after a jumper by Blair Klostermann and a three-pointer out of the right hand of Gaber. The two teams exchanged baskets for the next few minutes until Dinius and De Paulo converted back-to-back layups to pull within three, 62-59, with four minutes to play.

The Peacock defense stayed strong over the final four minutes allowing just five points, but the offense failed to notch another point over the final minutes missing all three of their attempts and coughing up a pair of turnovers. For the game, Upper Iowa had 22 turnovers in the game including 14 in the first half.

Upper Iowa won the battle on the glass coming up with a 31-20 advantage in rebounds. Klostermann and Savannah Domeyer each pulled down 5 rebounds apiece. Ashley Rosenstiel, who scored 5 points, also grabbed 4 boards and 3 steals.

UIU will be back on Prochaska Court on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Peacocks will host the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato. Fans are encouraged to wear an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" to the women's and men's double header in Fayette on Saturday.