FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa women's basketball (1-2) team fell to Augustana (S.D.) (2-2) on Saturday afternoon, 76-67, in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Vikings outscored the Peacocks 34-16 in the paint and outrebounded UIU 46-28 with a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Upper Iowa held a 44-41 lead midway through the third quarter, which ended up being its final lead of the game. The Vikings went on a 22-8 run the rest of the quarter, shooting 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the field and 7-of-10 (70%) from the free-throw line.
The Peacocks had their worst shooting quarter of the game in the fourth, going 2-of-14 (14.3%) from the field with half the shots (1-of-7) coming from behind the arc. The Vikings didn't do much better, shooting 4-of-12 (33.3%) from the field in the final period of play, but it was enough to hang on, 76-67.
In the first half, UIU was consistent, shooting 8-of-16 (50%) in the first quarter and 5-of-10 (50%) in the second quarter. The Peacocks trailed by 11 early and were down 27-20 at the end of the first quarter. Upper Iowa then held Augie to 4-of-20 (20%) from the field in the second quarter to trail 38-36 at halftime.
Ellie Foster led Upper Iowa with a career-high 25 points, playing 38:42 of the game. This marks back-to-back games with career highs for her after she scored 19 points in Tuesday's win over Winona State. Foster shot 8-of-16 (50%) from the field with three rebounds, an assist and a block.
Ava Privet scored 17 points with two assists, marking a season-high in both categories for her. Bryar Duwe scored a season-high 12 points with a team-high six rebounds and five assists. She also tied for the Peacocks lead in steals with two.
Jordan McMahon scored five points with five blocked shots. Sydnee Nelson had four points with two assists and a steal. Kenzie Deaton and Kendyl Lodermeier each scored a basket. Deaton grabbed three rebounds while Lodermeier had two rebounds and two assists.
The Vikings were led by Isabella Sanneh, who was a force on the inside with 29 points and 14 rebounds. She also had four assists and two steals, while shooting 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the field and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the charity stripe.
Payton Hary scored 10 points with eight rebounds for Augustana. Clarissa Sauer was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field with nine points, six rebounds and a team-high four steals. Maliyah Elliott had eight points, four assists and three steals.
The Peacocks had 18 turnovers compared to 16 for the Vikings, but UIU outscored Augie 19-16 off turnovers. The Vikings had a 14-4 advantage on second-chance points and a 19-7 bench advantage. Augustana held the lead for 35:53 of gametime compared to 3:09 for Upper Iowa.
Upper Iowa returns to action in Dorman on Monday at 1 p.m. against Clarke University (3-5). The Pride fell to Peru State (Neb.) on Saturday, 73-64.
