The Upper Iowa University women's basketball team outscored the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul in the second half, but the Peacocks were unable to pull off a comeback against their NSIC foe. UIU managed to secure more rebounds and shoot better from both two- and three-point territory for the game, but the Bears owned a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint and benefited from 26 Peacock turnovers as their 23-8 points off turnovers margin and 19-7 fast break boost gave Concordia-St. Paul a 60-46 victory. The Golden Bears improve to 8-3 (6-3 NSIC) while UIU drops to 1-10 (0-9 NSIC).

Turning Points…

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter, but Upper Iowa took the lid off the basket and scored the first two points of the game at the 7:50 mark. The Golden Bears went on a 12-2 run after the opening bucket to build a 12-4 lead with just over one minute remaining, but senior centers Savannah Domeyer and Ally Fink helped UIU close the opening quarter on a 5-0 run and cut their deficit to 12-9. Domeyer checked in at the 1:05 mark and immediately made a 3PT shot only four seconds later. Fink blocked the ensuing Golden Bear shot attempt and was rewarded with a fast break layup after the defensive effort. CSP took the final three shots of the quarter in the final 20 seconds, but Domeyer's defensive effort held them scoreless as she recorded two defensive rebounds and a block to close the period.

The Golden Bears opened the second quarter of play with a 14-0 run to build a 26-9 lead. Fink put a halt to the scoring run by knocking down a shot from three-point range at the 4:13 mark. She would follow that up with a layup just about a minute later, but Bears would use a 6-0 run to take a 33-14 lead at halftime. Senior Natalie Dinius opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run by hitting back-to-back 3PT shots, but CSP was again able to answer with a run of their own as they went on an 13-4 stretch to take their largest lead of the game at 46-24. 

The Peacocks kicked off a strong comeback effort by going on their largest of the game, outsourcing the Bears 11-0 from the 1:03 mark in the third quarter until the 5:57 mark in the fourth. The 11-point deficit after their big run is as close as Upper Iowa would come for the rest of the contest. Brooke Evenson and Domeyer scored 10 and 7 points respectively over the final 11:03 of the game, but the Peacock comeback came up short as Concordia-St. Paul claimed a 60-46 victory.

Peacock Leaders…

Domeyer tied for the Peacock scoring high as she poured in a season-high 12 points. Her 5-10 (50%) clip from the floor included a 1-2 (50%) mark from behind the 3PT arc and 1-1 (100%) from the charity stripe. She added 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. 

Fink tied a season-high with 7 points on 3-4 (75%) shooting while knocking down her lone 3PT attempt. Her 7 points all came in 7:24 of play in the first half, and she finished the night with 2 blocks as well. 

Evenson tied the team-high of 12 points while pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds as she notched the second Peacock double-double of the season. She also added 3 steals and 2 assists.

Golden Bear Leaders…

Sydney Zgutowicz led the Bears with 14 points. She added 5 rebounds and was one of three CSP teammates tied for the game-high of 4 steals. 

Jadyn Hanson scored 13 points and contributed a team-high 4 assists while also grabbing 5 rebounds and 1 steal.

Riley Wheatcraft scored 9 points and secured a team-high 8 rebounds. She provided 2 assists and notched 4 steals. 

Up Next…

The Peacocks return to Dorman Memorial Gymnasium for game two of their weekend double-header against the Golden Bears at 2 p.m. on Feb. 7.