FAYETTE, Iowa – It was a first half to forget but a game to remember for the Winona State University women's basketball team on Tuesday, as the Warriors battled back from a 12-point first half deficit to beat Upper Iowa, 73-69 in Fayette.
Playing on the road for their third straight regular season game, WSU suffered a cold shooting second quarter, hitting at just a 26.7% clip including a 0-of-4 effort from behind the arc. In contrast, UIU was 17-of-32 en route to a 42 point first half and the lead in the game by the halftime buzzer. With a fifteen game winning streak over Upper Iowa and an unbeaten run so far in 2021-22, WSU was in unfamiliar territory on Tuesday.
However, when the second half started, it took Winona State less than three minutes to restore order to the world and regain the lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
WSU used great defense to jump start their offense in the second half, as the opening minute of play saw
Emily Kieck notch two steals and
Taylor Hustad one to spark the Winona State comeback. The Warriors outscored UIU 31-8 in the pivotal third quarter, shooting 12-of-16 from the floor while holding UIU to a 3-of-11 effort. In that run, WSU out-rebounded Upper Iowa 10-3 and was 4-of-6 from 3-point range, a key component of changing the momentum in the game.
But, to their credit, Upper Iowa battled back.
With just 5:55 left in the game, the Peacocks were within one, with the scoreboard showing WSU holding on to most narrow of leads at 63-62. However, at that point,
Ava Sergio grabbed an offensive rebound and then scored to move the margin to 65-62 and then
Taylor Hustad added a bucket of her own a short time later to stretch the lead to five for the Warriors. The teams traded buckets, timeouts and free throws the rest of the way, but Winona State was able to maintain the margin needed for the win.
Individually, Winona State was paced by Hustad who had 23 points and 10 rebounds and acheiving the first double-double of the season for the Warriors.
Emily Kieck added 15 points in her best outing of the season so far and
Lauren Fech had 12 points as well. Warrior post
Ava Sergio grabbed eight rebounds, including three on the offensive end of the floor, and also tallied eight points in a key performance off the bench for the Warriors.
Mattie Schimenz was perfect at the foul line at 4-of-4 on the night.
As a team overall, WSU shot 26-of-59 from the floor, good for a 44.1% overall clip; UIU was similar on the night at 43.1%. WSU had a narrow advantage on the boards at 36-34 in the closely contested contest.
With the Warrior win, Winona State (3-0, 1-0 NSIC) stretched their streak over Upper Iowa (1-3, 0-1 NSIC) to 16 games, but Tuesday's tilt most certainly was one of the closest WSU-UIU contests in several years. Winona State will now prepare to play on the road in Topeka, Kan. where they are scheduled to face Washburn University on Friday, Nov. 26 and Northwest Missouri State on Sat., Nov. 27.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
