ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball team (14-11, 10-9 NSIC) fell short in an 88-79 loss to Upper Iowa (7-16, 5-14 NSIC) on Friday night at the Gangelhoff Center. Anika Whiting scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
 
The Peacocks got it done at the free throw line as they connected on 36-40 (90.0%) while the Golden Bears only took 10 trips to the charity stripe, making six of them.
 
The win marked Upper Iowa's first ever victory in 10 trips to St. Paul and just their second win overall in 21 meetings with Concordia.
 
With the huge disparity in free throws, the Golden Bears attempted 18 more field goals than UIU, hitting 43.4% (33-76) compared to 43.1% (25-58) for Upper Iowa. Concordia held the edge from behind the arc as they went 7-22 and the Peacocks attempted just seven threes, making two of them.
 
Whiting's 30 point barrage was her second game with 30+ points this season and third of her career as she hit 14-20 from the floor and grabbed 10 boards for her sixth double-double of the season. After hitting just 1-4 in the first half, Whiting hit an amazing 13-16 and grabbed eight boards as she didn't leave the floor in the second half.
 
Ameshia Kearney also turned it on after the break as she scored 11 of her 15 points and dished out four of her five assists after the break. Kyrah Fredenburg came off the bench to provide a spark for the Golden Bears as well as she finished with eight point and a career-high seven boards. Fredenburg has averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two meeting with the Peacocks.
 
The duo of Olivia Winkler and Lindsay Carroll proved difficult to stop as they combined for 55 points and 16 rebounds between the two of them as they combined for 31 trips to the free throw line. Winkler finished a rebound short of a double-double with 28 points and nine boards while hitting 8-14 from the floor and 12-14 from the stripe while Carroll scored 27 points with seven rebounds and 16-17 from the line.
 
Upper Iowa set the tone early as they ran out to a seven point lead at 17-10 nearly six minutes into the game. The Peacocks slowly continued to extend the lead throughout the half as it eventually reached 12 at 29-17 and again at 31-19 before the Golden Bears worked their way back in it.
 
Despite early foul trouble for Whiting sending her to the bench for much of the half, the Golden Bears closed out the period on a 13-4 run as they headed into the locker room trailing by just three at 35-32.
 
The momentum didn't carry over into the second half as the Peacocks pushed the lead back to double digits by the 14:57 mark. Winkler pushed the lead to the largest of the night at 49-36 with a pair of free throws with 13:57 to play before the Golden Bears battled back to shrink the gap.
 
Kearney threes on two straight possessions a few minutes later cut the deficit to six at 53-47 but they wouldn't pull any closer as Upper Iowa got to the line consistently and knocked down their free throws. By the 7:39 mark the lead was back to a dozen and remained in double figures until there was 2:09 to play in the game. A three point play for Whiting with 1:02 to go cut it back down to six, but strong free throw shooting down the stretch led to the Peacocks closing out the win 88-79.
 
Concordia will look to get back on track for Senior Night as Anika Whiting, Amanda Barton, Ameshia Kearney and Asha Knight will be honored following tomorrow afternoon's match-up with Winona State. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.