The Upper Iowa University women's basketball team won their matchup against Minot State University to pick up their third win in their last four games at home in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Peacocks bested the Beavers by a score of 80-71 to improve to 5-14 overall and 2-11 in the NSIC. With the loss, MISU falls to 8-11 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
A quartet of Peacocks scored 12-plus points, combining for 66 of the team's 71-point tally.
Lydia Haack led the way with a game-high 23 points on 9-16 (56.3%) from the floor and 3-5 (60%) from three-point range. It was Haack's fourth outing of 20-plus points and her first since Dec. 4. The point guard tied
Emma Anderson for a team-high with six assists and grabbed three rebounds. Fellow Elk River, Minn. native
Mia Huberty, set a career-high with 17 points on 4-8 (62.5%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from downtown. Huberty notched her most rebounds since UIU's opening night with seven and added two assists.
Katie Tornstrom needed just 14 minutes to score 14 points while shooting 3-7 (42.9%) overall, 2-5 (40%) from three, and 6-6 from the free throw line. Tornstrom also added six boards and a block.
Jessica Musgrave rounded out the double-figure with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. Musgrave snagged a game-high three steals while also contributing an assist.
The Beavers had a trio of double-digit scorers, two of whom tallied a dozen points apiece in the first half. Kate Head headed the Beaver effort with 22 points and a game-high seven assists, notching 12 and five, respectively, in the first half. Head shot 7-14 (50%) from the floor, 3-7 (42.9%) from deep, and 5-5 from the charity stripe while adding three rebounds and one steal. Amber Stevahn, the reining NSIC North Division Player of the Week, scored 12 first-half points on 6-9 (66.7%) shooting, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds, and an assist while shooting 8-19 (42.1%). Natasha Elliott poured in 12 points with a pair of rebounds and steals, and one assist. Emma Mogen notched eight points, eight rebounds, a game-high three blocks, and two assists.
After going just over a minute without a score, the Peacocks rattled off eight points in just over one minute as triples from Haack and Musgrave sandwiched a Huberty layup. After the teams traded baskets, the Beavers took a 12-10 lead with a 10-0 stretch. Upper Iowa answered with a 15-6 run to close the quarter, shooting a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Tornstrom scored all nine of her first-half points over the 4:24 stretch, swishing home a three and going 6-6 from the stripe.
Savannah Domeyer added four points off the bench over the stretch, giving UIU a 25-18 lead through one frame.
After shooting 42.9% (6-14) from the floor, 60% (3-5) from three, and 100% (10-10) from the free throw line in the first quarter, the Peacocks shot just 35.3% (6-17) overall, 16.7% (1-6) from deep, and 0-1 from the line in quarter two. Minot State turned the tide with a 21-11 start to the second quarter as Head (9 points) and Stevahn (8 points) got going. Haack had the final say in the quarter with a late layup that cut the MISU lead to just one at 39-38. Haack picked up where she left off in the third quarter with a three-pointer on the opening possession, and a jumper from Musgrave gave UIU a 5-0 start to the second half. The Beavers responded by outscoring the Peacocks by five to close the quarter, maintaining their one-point edge through three.
In the fourth frame, two MISU freebies gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 59-56. After a two-minute drought without a field goal from either side, the teams traded five consecutive shots, four of which came from behind the arc. Haack kicked things off with a triple before a two-point jumper from the Beavers. The three-point barrage heated up as Huberty knocked down a trifecta off an assist from Haack, and Head answered with a triple for MISU. However, Huberty hit again off another Haack assist, and Head missed a three on the next possession as UIU came out of the exchange with a 65-64 lead with 6:48 remaining. The Beavers regained their three-point lead with a pair of layups, but four straight points from Musgrave gave the momentum back to the Peacocks.
A layup from Haack put Upper Iowa ahead by three with three minutes to play, but Head converted an and-one to knot the score at 71 points apiece. After committing the foul, Tornstrom responded with a triple on the next possession. Haack made a jumper after a defensive stop, and the nail in the coffin came after Musgrave rebounded a missed three and got the ball to Haack, who made a three-quarter-court pass to an open LexieLodermeier, who made the layup. Huberty capped off a 9-0 game-ending run with a pair of free throws, clinching the 80-71 win for UIU.
The Peacocks bookended the game with strong first- and fourth-quarter performances, shooting a combined 14-28 (50%) from the floor, 7-14 (50%) from three, and 14-16 (87.5%) from the line. UIU held MISU to just 12-36 (33.3%) overall and 4-18 (22.2%) from three in those quarters. Overall, Upper Iowa finished with their third-best shooting performance of the season, going 26-60 (43.3%) from the field, (9-26 (34.6%) from three, and making a season-high 19-of-23 (82.6%) free throws. The Beavers shot 28-69 (40.6%) overall, 6-31 (19.4%) from deep, and 9-11 (81.8%) from the stripe. Minot State outscored UIU 36-26 in the paint, but the Peacocks out-rebounded MISU 42-31, including a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Beavers had 17 turnovers despite just four UIU steals, while all six UIU turnovers came from MISU steals.
Up next, the Peacocks host another NSIC North matchup against the University of Mary. The tipoff against the Marauders is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.
