The Upper Iowa women's basketball team closed their cross-divisional road trip with a 56-45 loss against Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Dragons used an early flurry of triples to take an early lead, and the Peacocks could not complete a comeback after going down 14 in the opening frame. UIU falls to 4-14 (1-11 NSIC), while MSUM improves to 6-8 (5-5 NSIC).

Shooting woes plagued the Peacocks for the second night in a row as the offense shot just 18-60 (30%) overall and 4-18 (22.2%) from three. Lydia Haack scored a team-high 10 points, but MSUM held her to 4-19 (21.1%) from the floor. The point guard did shoot 2-5 (40%) from distance, tied for a team-high with six rebounds, and snared a game-high four steals. Lexie Lodermeier tied a season-high with nine points and grabbed four boards. Katie Tornstrom added eight points, four rebounds, and two steals.

Peyton Boom led the Dragons with 14 points and 14 rebounds while shooting 5-7 (71.4%) overall and 4-5 (80%) from deep. Shyanne Loiland scored 13 points and grabbed eight boards. Natalie Jens notched 12 points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Mariah McKeever scored 10 points with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Lodermeier answered a 4-0 MSUM start with a 4-0 spurt of her own, but the Dragons knocked down three consecutive triples to go up 13-4. A pair of free throws from Lodermeier stopped the 9-0 run, but MSUM made their fourth and fifth consecutive shots to take a double-digit lead, 17-6. After a UIU miss, the Dragons converted a three-pointer on the third chance after two offensive rebounds to force a timeout. Emma Anderson banked home a buzzer-beating bucket at the end of the quarter, cutting the Peacock deficit to 22-10.

The Peacocks pulled within six after two triples from Haack and four points from Tornstrom, 26-20. MSU Moorhead responded with a 5-0 run to reclaim their double-digit edge, but baskets from Tornstrom and Anderson cut the deficit to 31-24 at the half.

After MSUM scored the opening points of the half, a trifecta from Evenson and two layups from Haack propelled UIU to a 7-3 spurt and pulled the Peacocks within five at 36-31. The Dragons answered with a pair of threes, closing the third quarter on a 10-1 run to carry a 46-32 advantage into the fourth.

Upper Iowa made an early push in the final frame thanks to a two-pointer from Lodermeier and a three-pointer from Mia Huberty. A triple from MSUM with four minutes to play pushed the home team ahead by 13 at 54-31. UIU could not complete a comeback despite Huberty and Evenson combining to score four consecutive points, and the Peacocks fell 56-45.

UIU held MSU Moorhead to a 21-61 (34.4%) clip from the floor and just 29% from three-point range. The Dragons did their damage from deep as they were plus-15 from three after making nine triples on 31 attempts. MSUM held a slight 43-39 rebounding edge and was plus-on on the offensive glass, but UIU had a 20-18 scoring advantage in the paint. The Peacocks mustered a 10-2 margin in fastbreak points, but the Dragons used a 13-5 edge in assists to find open shooters and secure the win.

Up next, the Peacocks host their final cross-divisional games as they welcome Minot State University and the University of Mary to Fayette. UIU battles the Beavers on Friday, Jan. 28, at 5:30 p.m. before a matchup against the Marauders at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29.