The Upper Iowa University women's basketball team was marred by a big quarter from an opponent once again, falling 75-51 against Southwest Minnesota State University. In the third period, a 28-8 advantage for SMSU decided their matchup after a closely-contested first half. The Peacocks drop to a 1-8 (0-5 NSIC) record on the year while the Mustangs improve to 7-2 (4-1 NSIC).
Upper Iowa held Southwest Minnesota State to a 1-11 shooting start and built an early 8-3 lead just past the midway point in the opening quarter. SMSU hit a pair of threes and a layup to go on an 8-2 run, but
Brooke Evenson swished home a three-pointer to give UIU the lead through one quarter, 13-11.
The Mustangs reversed their first-period shooting woes with an 8-0 stretch to open the second quarter, but the Peacocks responded with a 9-0 run capped off with a three from
Callista Rochon-Baker to reclaim the advantage. UIU scored just six points over the final 5:38 of the quarter, and SMSU notched 12 points over that time to carry a 31-28 lead into the half.
SMSU opened the third quarter on a 16-3 run, including a 12-0 stretch that forced a UIU timeout with 5:36 on the clock. Evenson knocked down her fourth shot from deep out of the timeout, matching a career-high. The basket ended the SMSU run, but the Mustangs started a new run and scored seven straight to force another timeout. Evenson made a two-point jump shot after a timeout once again, but SMSU answered with a three-pointer and closed the quarter with another 7-0 stretch. The Mustangs outscored the Peacocks 28-8 in the third, shooting 11-14 (78.6%) while holding UIU to just 3-16 (18.8%) as Evenson was the lone Peacock to score.
Facing a 59-36 deficit going into the final period of play,
Mia Huberty made a second-chance shot on UIU's first possession, but the Mustangs pushed their lead to 30 with 7:32 to play, 71-41. Upper Iowa went on a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer from
Savannah Domeyer to cut their deficit to 21, but SMSU claimed a 75-51 win at the final buzzer.
STATS OF THE GAME…
-
The Mustangs out-shot the Peacocks from the field 29-62 (46.8%) to 16-57 (28.1%) and shot 9-30 (30%) from three while holding UIU to an 8-21 (28.6%) clip.
-
Southwest Minnesota State held the advantage inside with a 43-34 rebounding advantage and a 40-12 margin in points in the paint.
-
SMSU got a big boost from their bench as they outscored the UIU reserves 38-7.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME…
-
Brooke Evenson scored a game-high 16 points, her second-highest scoring output of the season. Evenson tied a career-high with four threes (4-9, 44.4%), and she added two blocks and a rebound.
-
Lydia Haack notched the game's second-best scoring total with 15 points, supplementing a 5-13 (38.5%) shooting output with a 5-6 (83.3%) free throw clip. Haack also tied a game-high with four assists and snared a career-high five steals.
-
Jessica Musgrave recorded nine points on 2-13 (15.4%) from the floor and 5-6 (83.3%) from the charity stripe while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
UP NEXT… The Peacocks welcome Crown College for a contest in Fayette on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Augustana University and Wayne State College on Dec. 17 and 18, respectively.
