The Upper Iowa women's basketball team picked up a big win at home as they handed St. Cloud State University a 67-54 defeat in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. After facing a first-quarter deficit, the Peacocks hounded the NSIC-leading Huskies and outscored the visitors 58-36 through the final three quarters. Upper Iowa improves to 4-11 (1-8 NSIC) on the season, while St. Cloud State drops to an 11-3 (9-2 NSIC) record.

The Huskies, who maintain their hold on the top spot in the NSIC despite the loss, were coming off a weekend in which they swept two games against NSIC South opponents. SCSU had handed Concordia University, St. Paul a 73-69 defeat and beaten Minnesota State University Mankato 66-52, but the Peacocks proved to have the answer for the Huskies in Fayette. Upper Iowa's first conference win coincides with their first stretch of consecutive wins after defending Dorman on Jan. 11 with a 79-38 win over Waldorf (Iowa) University.

Jessica Musgrave and Lydia Haack led the way for UIU with 16 points apiece. The dynamic duo took turns shouldering the load as Musgrave scored nine points in the first half while Haack had 13 in the second half. Musgrave also added nine rebounds, two steals, a block, and an assist while shooting 5-8 (62.5%) from the floor, 2-2 from behind the arc, and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Haack tied a career-high with seven assists to lead the game while snagging two steals and hitting a game-high 5-of-6 (83.3%) at the free throw line.

Despite narrowly missing out on the UIU scoring lead, Brooke Evenson made her presence felt in a big way with 14 points and 13 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Evenson also led the Peacocks with four steals and had a big block in the third quarter. Mia Huberty and Emma Anderson played big minutes and big roles off the bench. Huberty scored eight of her 11 points in the second half and hit 3-of-5 (60%) threes while adding two assists in 27 minutes. Anderson was a game-high plus-21 in her season-high 30 minutes of action, scoring eight points to go with three rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a 2-4 (50%) clip from deep.

SCSU's Brehna Evans scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the first period to put the Huskies ahead early. Evans also notched six assists, six rebounds, two steals, and one block. Katrina Theis finished with season-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds, shooting 6-9 (66.7%) from the floor and adding two blocks, an assist, and a steal. The reigning NSIC North Division Player of the Week, Tori Wortz, finished with six points on 3-16 (18.8%) from the floor and 0-9 from three while notching six rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and an assist.

The Peacocks got off to a slow start as they did not register their first points until just over three minutes into the opening quarter, but the Huskies were not much better as they had only taken a 5-0 lead to that point. UIU cut their deficit to two points at the midway point of the first period, 9-7, but SCSU used a quick 9-2 run to double up on the Peacocks, 18-9, with two minutes left in the quarter. That is where the score remained going into the second frame, but St. Cloud scored the opening points of the second quarter to go up 11 at 20-9. This would prove to be the largest lead of the game for the visitors as Upper Iowa slowly and steadily turned the tide with a 15-2 run over the next eight minutes to take a 24-22 advantage. Musgrave paced the Peacocks with nine points during the run while Anderson added five. The Huskies hit the final shot of the half to tie the game at 24 at the midway mark, but UIU had the momentum in their favor.

St. Cloud made the first shot of the second half before the teams traded three-pointers, and UIU hit a layup to tie the game at 29. The teams went cold as they exchanged turnovers and airballs for one and a half minutes, but Haack snared a steal and assisted Huberty on a triple to put the Peacocks ahead by three. SCSU pulled within one at 34-33, but Huberty hit another shot from deep before a Haack layup gave UIU a six-point lead, 39-33, with 3:48 in the third. The visitors pulled within two later in the quarter, but Musgrave scored the final five points of the period to send the Peacocks into the final frame up 46-39.

The Huskies outscored the Peacocks 15-10 through the first 8:32 of the fourth quarter, capped off by a three-pointer from Brehna Evans that cut their deficit to two at 56-54. Evenson knocked down a triple on the ensuing possession to come up with a big answer for Upper Iowa, and the Peacocks used that three to propel themselves to a win as they closed out the game with an 11-0 run. UIU's three leading scorers, Haack (4-4), Musgrave (2-2), and Evenson (2-2), clinched the conference win by shooting 8-8 from the charity stripe to close the game and give the home team a 67-54 victory.

Upper Iowa held St. Cloud State to just 22-63 (34.9%) from the floor, 4-25 (16%) from three, and 6-11 (54.5%) from the line while shooting 22-52 (42.3%) from the field, 10-25 (40%) from deep, and 13-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line. UIU was plus-15 from distance in the second half as they hit seven threes while allowing just two. The teams tied with 37 rebounds, but SCSU's plus-six margin on the offensive glass gave them a 13-4 edge in second chance points. The Peacock duo of Huberty and Anderson gave UIU a 19-11 advantage in bench points.

Up next, the Peacocks welcome another formidable NSIC North opponent in the University of Minnesota Duluth to Fayette. The Bulldogs are 11-4 on the season and match St. Cloud with a 9-2 NSIC record after handing Winona State University a 61-47 loss on the same night as UIU's win. The game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 15, following a men's matchup of the No. 16/18 UIU Peacocks and No. 5/6 UMD Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m.