Box Score FAYETTE, Iowa – The Upper Iowa University Peacocks used the dead-eye shooting of Whitney Kieffer, who used 30 points, as the Peacocks upended the University of Minnesota, Crookston 91-68 Friday night at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. The Golden Eagles fall to 5-10 (2-9 NSIC) and are currently on a four-game losing streak. Upper Iowa improves to 5-13 (2-9 NSIC) with the win. Upper Iowa finished the game shooting 54.3 percent from the field and hit 11 three-pointers and shot 42.3 percent for the game.
 
UMC was led by 13 points off the bench from Erika McRoberts (Fr., F/C, Byron, Minn.). Three other players would finish with double-figure scoring performance with Brittani Wiese (Sr., G, Albertville, Minn.) tallying 12 points, Ashley Martell (So., G, Somerset, Wis.) notching 11 points and Katrina Moenkedick (Fr., F, Perham, Minn.) scoring 10 points. The Golden Eagles would finish the game shooting 24-of-58 for 41.4 percent and were 4-of-11 from three-point land for 36.4 percent. UMC again struggled from the charity stripe going 16-of-28 for 57.1 percent.
 
Upper Iowa's hot-shooting night was paced by Kieffer's 30 points. She was 13-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Sam Thrapp added 13 points including three treys while Laura TerHark had four threes and scored 14 points.
 
The Peacocks out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 45-29 led by 10 rebounds from Carly Pagel. UMC was paced by Laurie Tyson (Sr., C, Rosemount, Minn.) with six boards.  
 
The Golden Eagles got out to an early 12-7 advantage against the Peacocks using a fast pace and strong passing in the post utilizing Moenkedick, who tallied six of UMC's first 12 points. Upper Iowa cut the UMC advantage to 12-11 and would tie the Golden Eagles 15-15 at the 12:07 mark following a pair of made free throws from Thrapp and would take the lead shortly after (17-15) following a Garcia lay-up.
 
UMC would knot the game back at 17-17 after a McRoberts jumper. However Upper Iowa would go on a 14-0 run using back-to-back-to-back treys from Thrapp followed by a Garcia lay-up and a TerHark three to get the Peacocks out to a 31-17 advantage with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening half.
 
The Golden Eagles would begin to cut into Upper Iowa's advantage beginning with a Moenkedick lay-up with 6:30 remaining and followed by a Martell runner in the lane to make it 32-21 but Upper Iowa would get the lead back out to 37-21 with two minutes left in the game. Converted free throws from Wiese and McRoberts would cut the lead to 37-23. UMC would go into the break down 39-25 to the Peacocks.
 
The Golden Eagles were led in the first half by Moenkedick's eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. McRoberts would come off the bench for six points while Wiese would add four points. UMC shot 10-of-26 from the field for 38.5 percent and were 1-of-5 from beyond the arc for 20.0 percent.
 
The bulk of the Golden Eagles' struggles came from the charity stripe where they were just 4-of-11 for 36.4 percent and on the boards where Upper Iowa strong armed UMC 25-13 in rebounds. Wiese and Tyson led the Golden Eagles with four rebounds apiece while Pagel paced the Peacocks with six rebounds.
 
Upper Iowa shot 15-of-33 for 45.5 percent in the first half and were 5-of-13 for 38.5 percent from three. Thrapp and Kieffer paced the Peacocks with 13 points apiece. Thrapp was 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Upper Iowa was able to extend their lead to 18 (45-27) early in the second half. The Golden Eagles would begin to climb back into the game after Martell hit a trey from the wing and was subsequently fouled where she hit her one shot from the charity stripe to make it 45-31 with just over 17 minutes remaining. UMC would further cut into the lead after Wiese hit a three-pointer to cut it to 45-34. A quick transition basket for the Peacocks' Chelsea Garcia would make it 47-34 Upper Iowa. UMC would cut the lead to 47-36 following a Perkins jumper in the lane.
 
However, the Peacocks would quickly counter with five-straight points to get it back out to a 57-36 advantage led by back-to-back Kieffer threes. Upper Iowa would get up by as much as 26 (66-40). The Golden Eagles would cut it to 17 (68-51) following a Martell trey and a steal and lay-up for Wiese, a McRoberts lay-up and then an Alexa Thielman (Fr., G, Buffalo, Minn.) runner in the lane. The Peacocks would get back up to a 22-point lead and UMC would again cut it to 17 following a Cienna Walker (So., G, Ajax, Ontario) lay-up but that would be as close as UMC would get in the final five minutes of the game as Upper Iowa would win 91-68.
 
The Golden Eagles return to the court at 4 p.m. against Winona State University tomorrow in Winona, Minn., as they look to get back on a winning track.
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).