Haley Martin's double-double wasn't enough on Friday night as Missouri Western State University used a big run in the third quarter to pull away from the Peacocks and seal the season-opening victory, 67-58, in the first game of the 5th annual MIAA/NSIC Tournament.
After a strong first half that saw the teams take an even score into the break, the third quarter proved to be too much for the Peacocks. MWSU forced 13 turnovers in the third frame to fuel an 18-0 run that lasted over six minutes en route to outscoring UIU 24-10. The Peacocks made a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter with a 19-14 point advantage, but the Griffons had enough breathing room to come away with the victory.
Upper Iowa maintained the lead for over half of the first quarter and held the Griffons to under 18% scoring beyond the arc throughout the first half. Casey Miles went 2-for-2 from the field including a 3-pointer while Savannah Domeyer scored four of the final six points to tie the game at 29-all.
The second half got away from the Peacocks quickly as they were held to just one shot in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Miles finally broke open UIU's second-half scoring with just over three minutes left in the 3rd that gave the Peacocks momentum to close out the contest with a 29-20 run. Martin (8), Miles (7), Bekka Pierson (7), and Ally Fink (5) led the team in that final effort.
The Griffons took advantage of 28 Peacock turnovers by scoring 28 points on the giveaways. The Peacocks had struggled with points at the charity stripe in their preseason game but improved to make 27 for 36 (77.3%) in Friday night's contest.
Martin finished the night with a game-high 10 rebounds and 10 points to record her second career double-double. Miles scored a team-high 12 points and Pierson chipped in 11 points and 8 rebounds. Domeyer came up with a game-high four blocks to lead the Peacock defense.
Katrina Roenfeldt (17) and Cera Ledbetter (16) combined for just under half of the Griffon's scoring. Roenfeldt also claimed six of MWSU's 19 steals.
Upper Iowa will round out the MIAA/NSIC Tournament against host Fort Hays State University on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.
