ROLLA, Mo. - Kendyl Lodermeier and Ellie Foster each scored 19 points in Upper Iowa's (12-10, 8-6 GLVC) 77-73 overtime win over Missouri S&T (8-10, 4-8 GLVC) on Thursday night. Junior guard Ava Privet added six points in overtime to help the Peacocks emerge victorious in the extra five minutes.
Trailing 45-42 in the third quarter, Ellie Foster knocked down a 3-point and Lodermeier made an and-one layup to give UIU a 48-45 lead. Privet free throws, along with a Magi Bjornson buzzer beater that bounced around the rim and in, capped off the 10-0 run to give UIU the lead, 52-45, at the end of three.
With UIU leading 57-49 in the fourth, a layup by Ava McCulla and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Norah Gum cut the lead to 57-54. Lodermeier added another layup, a Bryar Duwe 3-pointer, a Josie Foster second-chance bucket and a Privet layup staved off the Miners for a bit to give UIU a 66-62 advantage.
A basket by S&T's Morgan Luebbering cut the Peacock lead to two. Almost two minutes later, McCulla was fouled going to the hoop and knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 66-66. Ellie Foster had the final look of regulation with a 3-pointer that missed at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Ellie Foster got a steal right away in overtime and knocked down a free throw to take an early lead. After that, the graduate drew a defender and found Lodermeier on the left side of the hoop for the layup. An Ava Privet jumper, along with four free throws, helped UIU win the game, 77-73.
The first half of the game was back-and-forth, featuring five lead changes and seven ties. Ellie Foster scored 11 points in the first half while shooting 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the field. She knocked down a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the half to tie the game at 30-30 at the break.
Lodermeier recorded her third double-double in the past four games with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman was 7-of-15 (46.6%) from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
Ellie Foster's 19 points came with six rebounds while tying for the team high in assists with three. Privet finished with 16 points, five rebounds and a steal. Duwe had eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
Sydnee Nelson made a 3-pointer, tied for the team lead in assists with three and grabbed six rebounds. Josie Foster finished with six points, two rebounds and two blocks. Amelia Valentino scored four points with three rebounds.
Gum finished with 17 points for Missouri S&T. She was one of four double-digit point scorers for the Miners as Kiarra Kilgore had 12 points, McCulla had 10 points and Adriana Benassi had 10 points. McCulla grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Missouri S&T totaled 56 points in the paint, outscoring UIU by 30, 56-26. The Miners only made one 3-pointer, shooting 1-of-14 (7.1%). UIU was 6-of-18 (33.3%) from behind the arc. The Peacocks outscored S&T on fast breaks, 10-3.
Upper Iowa finished the game 28-of-68 (41.2%) from the field and continued its strong free-throw shooting of 15-of-17 (88.2%). This is the fourth straight game UIU has shot 80% or above from the charity stripe while also shooting 15 or more free throws.
The Miners shot 30-of-78 (38.5%) from the field and 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the charity stripe. The game featured 14 lead changes with 12 ties, but UIU led for 28:41 compared to 9:05 for Missouri S&T.
The Peacocks have now won four of their last five games. The team now heads to Jefferson City to face Lincoln (Mo.) (4-17, 2-12 GLVC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Blue Tigers lost to Lewis (Ill.) (14-8, 10-3 GLVC) by six points on Thursday night.
