Northern State came out of the gates ready to play at home on Wednesday night and never looked back. Upper Iowa, the NSIC South Division seventh seed, struggled from the floor knocking down only 11 field goals in the game.

Northern State took an early 19-2 lead early in the second quarter and kept the pressure on en route to their 58-29 victory in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. After the decision, UIU's final record for the year was 4-23, while Northern improved to 21-6.

Blake Bergren scored a team-high seven points for UIU, while Sam Ofstad added 6 in her final game for the Peacocks. Fellow senior Carly Pagel pulled down 5 rebounds to close out her career. Sophomore Haley Martin registered 5 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.

Northern State was led by Paige Waytashek (14 points) and Jill Conrad (10 points, 5 rebounds). The Wolves forced 20 Peacock turnovers and converted them into a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Upper Iowa stuggled in the first and fourth quarters totaling just two points in the opening ten minutes and five in the final ten.

Northern State will move on to the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. against the University of Minnesota Crookston in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.