The Upper Iowa women's basketball team opened up the 2019-20 conference slate against Winona State University on Saturday afternoon. The Peacocks put forth their best offensive performance of the season but it wasn't quite enough to get past the undefeated Warriors as Winona State secured a 75-61 road victory. Upper Iowa falls to 0-6 (0-1 NSIC) with the loss while Winona State improves to 5-0 (1-0 NSIC).

In the first quarter, Upper Iowa took an early 5-4 lead thanks to Jessica Musgrave's first basket of the day and an Ally Fink three-pointer. The Warriors then used a 6-0 spurt to go ahead 10-5 but the Peacocks countered with a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 12-10 with 3:09 left in the frame. The teams continued to battle with Winona State claiming a 16-13 advantage at the end of the first 10 minutes. The Peacocks shot 50.0 percent from the field in the quarter while holding their opponents to 8-of-18 shooting including 0-of-7 from behind the arc. 

The home team continued their hot shooting in the second quarter and converted 60.0 percent of their attempts. Musgrave led the effort with six points, Brooke Evenson chipped in four, and a quartet of Peacocks scored their first points of the game. On the other end of the court, the Warriors shot just 27.2 percent inside the arc but were able to cash in on 5-of-6 long distance shots to edge UIU 21-19 in the frame and take a 37-32 lead into the locker room. 

The start of the third quarter was troublesome for Upper Iowa as the Peacocks were held scoreless for the first 6:16 while the guests added 12 points to their lead. Natalie Dinius then sunk a three to end the drought and shift the momentum back to the Peacocks who went on a 12-0 run to cut the hole back to five at 49-44. Upper Iowa made 5-of-5 attempts during the stretch including two from behind the arc. In the final 1:20, Winona State outscored the Peacocks 5-2 for a 54-46 lead going into the final leg. 

UIU once again trimmed the deficit to five, 64-59, with 4:47 to go but the Warriors held the Peacocks without a field goal for the remainder of the match to claim the conference opener by a final score of 75-61. 

• Jessica Musgrave led all scorers and all rebounders with a career-high 25 points and seven boards. She made 11-of-16 shots from the field and added a pair of free throws
• Natalie Dinius converted four of eight shot attempts including three from long-distance to tally a season-high 12 points

• Upper Iowa shot 42.9 percent from the floor with 24 made field goals, both season-highs
• Winona State finished with the advantage in points off turnovers (20:7), points in the paint (28:22) and second chance points (17:10), but Upper Iowa held an edge on fast break points (7:4)