Upper Iowa has moved 9-9 (6-8 GLVC) to end their first homestand in the month of February. The Peacocks and McKendree Bearcats battled it out in an overtime thriller, where the Bearcats were able to edge out UIU to secure a 99-95 victory. The two teams split the season series against each other as the Peacocks had previously defeated McKendree 84-75 at the start of January.

The entire game was dominated by great offense from both teams, as all four quarters as well as overtime were very high scoring. McKendree edged out the Peacocks in the first quarter, where they took a 23-19 lead after ten minutes of action. Kayla Bohr opened the scoring for the Peacocks on a contested layup and their next nine points would come at the three-point line on a shot from Alaina Brenning and back-to-back makes by Katie Tornstrom.

The Peacocks dominated the second quarter as they shot 50% from the floor and 66.7% from beyond the arc, to outscore McKendree 24-14 and take a six-point lead at halftime. Amelia Valentino led the Peacocks with nine points at halftime, which all came in the second quarter on a perfect 3-3 shooting from the three-point line. Valentino was also great on the defensive end as she stole the ball twice and also blocked a shot. Cassidy Pagel also put together a perfect shooting half as she scored eight points on 4-4 shooting, and added two rebounds. Bohr finished the half with eight points and two steals on 4-7 shooting and Mia Huberty added seven points and six assists. Huberty's impact was also substantial on the defensive end as she blocked three shots in the half and also added a steal.

McKendree was able to take back the lead in a third quarter that saw them scored 29 points on 61.1% shooting. The Peacocks put up 18 points as a team in the third, led by Pagel who added seven more points in a five-minute span. She ended the quarter with an and-one layup with 20 seconds remaining, to help reduce the Peacocks deficit to 66-61 entering the fourth.

The fourth quarter may have been the most exciting quarter of Peacock basketball, where UIU once again shot 50% from the field in the quarter and converted on half their three's. Tornstrom and Brooke Evenson swished consecutive three pointers to make it a one-point game, and a Valentino three would put the Peacocks in the lead with three minutes remaining. The Bearcats responded by making a contested layup, but the Peacocks would propel themselves back in the lead as Tornstrom and Brenning each made a two-point shot, to make it a 79-76 game. McKendree was able to get to the foul line on two and one layups, and Evenson was able to add a layup with seven seconds remaining, to cut the Bearcats lead to one. UIU was forced to send McKendree to the line, where they made both free throws to extend their lead to three. With the game on the line, the Peacocks put the ball in the hands of leading scorer Katie Tornstrom, who came through in the clutch as she drilled a heavily guarded step back three to tie the game at 84 with three seconds remaining.

McKendree was unable to convert on a last second shot and the Peacocks would be playing in overtime for the second time this season. Bohr led the way for UIU in the overtime period as she scored on a two-point jumper and went 4-4 at the charity stripe. Her clutch shooting gave the Peacocks a 93-92 lead at the one-minute mark, but the Bearcats would convert on a two-point jumper to take the lead. Upper Iowa was later forced to foul, and McKendree would convert on their final five free throws to secure a 99-95 win.

Katie Tornstrom led all scorers with 22 points on 9-17 shooting while going 4-9 from three-point range. She added six rebounds and finished with a team-high three steals.

Kayla Bohr recorded her season-high 16 points on 6-10 shooting and finished the game with two steals and a block.

Cassidy Pagel also scored her season-high 15 points on 7-10 shooting and recorded three rebounds on the day.

Amelia Valentino was the game's most efficient player as she scored 12 points on 4-5 shooting from three-point range and added two steals and a block.

Brooke Evenson rounded out the Peacocks five double-digit scorers as she recorded 14 points on 5-9 shooting while going 2-3 from the three-point line. She added seven rebounds and also blocked a shot.

Mia Huberty served as the team's go-to playmaker as she scored nine points and matched her season-high with ten assists. She finished the game with five rebounds and recorded a career-high four blocked shots.

Alaina Brenning had a terrific all-around game as she scored seven points, hauled in a team-high eight rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked one shot.

The Peacocks will meet Indianapolis and Lewis for the second time this season, with both matches coming on the road. UIU goes up against UIndy on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. and Lewis on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m.