WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State women's basketball team opened conference play in successful fashion, downing visiting Upper Iowa 85-69 Saturday in McCown Gym.

Three Warriors reached double figures and all but two of the 15 players that saw action scored in a balanced WSU effort. Connor Nagle led WSU with 15 points going 6-of-9 from the field, while Kayla Timmerman scored 14 and Tara Roelofs added 10.

The Warriors scored the first four points of the game and never looked back, leading the entire way. WSU shot an efficient 55 percent (17-of-31) in the first half as Nagle scored 13 of her 15 points. Nagle's 3-point shot with 6:23 to play in the first half put WSU up by double digits for the first time at 30-19 and later she hit another triple to give the Warriors a 14-point lead at 41-27 with 3:04 to play. The Warriors would extend their lead to as much as 18 when they scored the final six points of the half, capped off by a Caitie Zepczyk made layup before the buzzer.

WSU's lead would hover around 20 points for much of the second half. The defense was swarming, at one point picking the Peacocks' pockets on four straight possessions midway through the half to account for four of their eight steals in the game.

 The Warriors would grow their lead to as much as 27 points with a Hannah McGlone layup with 6:23 to play before settling for the 85-69 victory.

Timmerman finished just shy of a double-double adding eight rebounds to her 14 points. McGlone added a game-high three assists to the stat sheet while the Warriors as a team held a slight 35-34 rebounding advantage.

WSU shot 54 percent for the game while holding the Peacocks to just 35 percent.

Winona State (5-0, 1-0 NSIC) hits the road for first time in conference play next weekend, traveling to Southwest Minnesota State for a 6 p.m. tip on Friday before facing Sioux Falls at 4 p.m. on Saturday.