Wayne, Neb. — Upper Iowa outscored Wayne State 23-12 in the third quarter to take control as the host Peacocks downed the Wildcats 73-59 in a Northern Sun Conference South Division women’s basketball game played Friday evening at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. Wayne State drops to 10-11 and 6-11 in the NSIC following the loss while the host Peacocks improve to 9-13 and 5-12 in the league.
Wayne State opened the game with an early 9-5 lead at the 6:28 mark of the first quarter.
Upper Iowa then went on a 13-0 run and took the lead for good at 18-9 with 2:21 to play in the first quarter before closing the opening quarter with a 20-14 lead.
After the host Peacocks built a 12-point lead three minutes into the second quarter, the ‘Cats came back with a scoring run to make the game close again.
Upper Iowa still held a 32-22 lead with 5:30 left before halftime, but the ‘Cats reeled off the next 10 points and closed within 32-30 following a Kassidy Pingel basket with 3:40 to go in the half.
The Peacocks pushed the lead to 36-30 before a Pingel trey to end the half made the score 36-33 at the break.
UIU came out strong in the third quarter and used hot shooting making 10 of 14 shots (71%) to outscore the ‘Cats 23-12 in the quarter to build a commanding 59-45 lead after three quarters.
The ‘Cats opened the fourth quarter with the first five points to cut the Peacock lead to nine at 59-50, but that’s as close as WSC would get as Upper Iowa held a double digit lead the rest of the game and closed with a 73-59 win.
Maya Fitzpatrick led Wayne State in scoring with 15 points followed by Pingel with 13.
Wayne State ended the game making 19 of 51 shots for 37.3 percent. The ‘Cats were 9 of 23 from 3-point range and 12 for 18 at the free throw line.
Lydia Haack scored a game-high 29 points for Upper Iowa followed by Katie Tornstrom with 14 and Callista Rochon-Baker 10.
UIU shot 47.6 percent for the game making 30 of 63 shots. The Peacocks were 8 of 25 behind the arc and just 5 for 8 at the line.
Upper Iowa held a 38-28 edge in rebounding with Meg Rietz grabbing six boards for the ‘Cats. The Peacocks held a 40-14 advantage in points in the paint.
The Wildcats visit Winona State in an NSIC South Division game Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
