The Upper Iowa women's basketball team endured their second narrow defeat in as many games against Wayne State College, falling 74-72. The Wildcats defended their home court despite the Peacocks pulling within two late and having two chances to tie or take the lead in the final seconds. UIU falls to 5-16 (2-13 NSIC), while WSC improves to 8-11 (5-10 NSIC).
Five Peacocks scored in double-figures, led by
Lydia Haack's 19 points. Haack shot 6-16 from the floor, 2-6 from three, and 5-6 from the free throw line while adding four assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Mia Huberty tallied 13 points, four assists, and three rebounds while shooting an efficient 4-8 overall, 3-4 from deep, and 2-2 from the charity stripe.
Jessica Musgrave,
Katie Tornstrom, and
Savannah Domeyer each notched 10 points apiece. Musgrave added seven rebounds and three assists. Domeyer also set season highs by grabbing 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, and sending away four shots in 21 minutes off the bench.
Wayne State offset UIU's quintet of double-digit scorers with four of their own. Kylie Hammer led the way with a game-high 26 points on 7-14 from the field, 5-8 from three, and 7-8 from the line. Lauren Zacharias hit 5-6 shots, including 3-4 from deep, and 2-2 from the FT line, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Kassidy Pingel notched 14 points, while Logan Hughes scored 12 points with seven boards.
After the Wildcats scratched first, the Peacocks used a 12-4 run to double up on the home team just past the halfway point in the opening quarter, 12-6. WSC cut UIU's lead in half, but the Peacocks maintained a 16-13 edge through one.
The Wildcats took the lead after scoring the first five points of the second quarter, jump-starting a 22-12 frame that flipped the script and saw UIU looking at a 35-27 halftime deficit. WSC shot 7-15 in the quarter, including a sizzling 5-9 from distance, and Hammer scored nine of her 26 points. Meanwhile, the Peacocks shot just 3-14 overall and 1-5 from deep.
Wayne State hit their first three shots of the third frame, including a pair of threes, to take their largest lead of the game, 43-30. Despite UIU cutting their deficit to seven, the 13-point advantage for the home team persisted at 52-39. The Peacocks outscored WSC by four over the second half of the third quarter, cutting their deficit to single digits at 61-52.
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats looked to be in control with a 70-58 lead with 4:32 remaining, but the Peacocks had other ideas. Haack bookended an 11-2 UIU run with a pair of triples to pull the Peacocks within one possession at 72-69. Huberty hit a two-pointer while
Brooke Evenson knocked down a three as UIU shot 4-5 overall and 3-3 from deep over the three-minute stretch. Pingel his two free throws with 1:11 remaining to put WSC up 74-69, but Haack converted an and-one layup on the ensuing possession to pull UIU within two points. The Peacocks forced a turnover on the next possession to get the ball back, but Haack could not convert a game-tying layup out of a timeout. Upper Iowa forced another turnover on the second consecutive WSC possession, getting the ball back with nine seconds to play. Evenson missed a jumpshot out of a timeout as UIU's comeback came up just short against WSC.
Upper Iowa had ten more shot attempts (66-56) and was plus-12 in paint points (36-24), but Wayne State got the edge with a plus-nine mark from three-point land and a plus-five mark at the charity stripe. The Wildcats shot 24-56 (42.9%) overall, 10-23 (43.5%) from deep, and 16-22 (72.7%) at the free throw line, while the Peacocks shot 27-66 (40.9%) from the floor, 7-22 (31.8%) from three, and 11-13 (84.6%) from the charity stripe.
Up next, the Peacocks travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on Augustana University in UIU's penultimate road tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5.
