Fayette, IA (Northern State) – The Northern State women’s basketball team was unable to escape Dorman Memorial Gymnasium with a win on Saturday evening, dropping a closely contested game to Upper Iowa 63-60. Each team led by as many as eight points in the game, however the Peacocks were able to string together scoring runs at critical moments including a 6-0 run to end the game.

THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 60, UIU 63
Records: NSU 12-10 (7-9 NSIC), UIU 8-13 (4-12 NSIC)
Attendance: 148

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Northern State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the game’s opening minutes with a pair of jumpers by Kailee Oliverson before Rianna Fillipi knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing
  • Madelyn Bragg capitalized on a four point possession for the Wolves, putting down a turnaround jumper to push the lead to 13-5
  • The Wolves started the second quarter with a 17-9 lead, however Upper Iowa out-scored Northern 25-9 in the period and entered the halftime break with a 34-26 advantage
  • Northern State regrouped at the halftime break and put together a strong third quarter, out-scoring Upper Iowa 21-15 in the period and cutting the eight point halftime deficit down to only two points
  • Laurie Rogers made a free throw and a jumper while Oliverson added a jumper of her own for the Wolves as they started the second half by scoring the first five points and making five of their first eight shot attempts
  • Starting the fourth quarter trailing by two points, Fillipi, Rogers, and Oliverson were able to string together a 10-0 scoring run for Northern to go up 59-55 with 2:15 remaining; the scoring run and Peacock scoring drought spanned over five minutes of game time
  • Unfortunately, the four point lead was not large enough as UIU out-scored NSU 8-2 the final 1:26 of the contest to earn the win
  • Oliverson notched her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds; the outing was her sixth game of 20 or more points (third straight) and tied a career-high mark in rebounds
  • Rogers scored in double figures for the 14th time this season with 12 points and Fillipi reached double figures for the 11th time on the year with 13 points; Fillipi was also able to record a new career-high mark of three blocked shots in the contest
  • The Wolves shot 26-60 (43.3%) from the field compared to 23-64 (35.9%) for the Peacocks

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Kailee Oliverson: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Rianna Fillipi: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks
Laurie Rogers: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

UP NEXT
The Northern State women’s basketball team will return to NSIC North Division play next weekend as they host division leaders St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth for I Hate Winter weekend. The Wolves and Huskies are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Friday evening, and Northern will then close the weekend against the Bulldogs on Saturday with a 6 p.m. tip-off from Wachs Arena.