FAYETTE, Iowa - Hannah Larson lit up the scoreboard tonight for 28 points, but her Herculean effort did little to stem the Upper Iowa University offense as the University of Mary Women's Basketball team fell to the Peacocks, 74-60.
 
Upper Iowa gained the upper hand early on the Marauders as they opened up the contest on a 13-4 run that lasted past the first media break. Never the ones to throw in the towel early, the Marauders slowly inched back into the game and narrowed the Peacock lead to 16-12 with 10:18 left in the first.
 
Unfortunately for the Marauders, Upper Iowa stayed several steps ahead and their offense kept U-Mary at a comfortable distant through the remainder of the first half. The Marauders found themselves down 37-23 at the half.
 
Another common theme with this Marauder team is the sudden surge they have coming out of the gate in the second half and it was a theme they maintained tonight as they scored two quick baskets to open up the second half and narrowed the deficit to 37-28. Though the Marauders struck fast and early, the Peacocks defense would not break and kept their cushion with a 47-34 advantage at the first break of the second half.
 
Both teams essentially traded baskets from this point as the Marauders couldn't get within 11 points of the Peacocks as the score remained just out of reach at 55-40 and 62-48 at the second and third media breaks, respectively. The final score saw U-Mary on the negative end of a 74-60 decision.
 
Larson finished the game with 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting. She has recorded double-digit points in nine separate games, including this one, and the last game she scored this many was the Dec. 6th contest against Minnesota State University Moorhead when she recorded 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field. Larson also finished tonight with nine rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two assists in 38 minutes on the floor.
 
Brittney Dietz remains just out of reach of her 1000-point career mark but she did register nine points, three assists, and one block in 37 minutes played.
 
Sloan Turner continues to provide the interior presence as she finished with seven rebounds and four points in 13 minutes of action.
 
Haley Hibbs sustained her all-around effort as she ended the game with five points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes on the court.
 
The Marauders (7-11, 5-7 NSIC) will return home to begin a four game homestand over the next two weeks. They'll start with a game against St. Cloud State University on Friday, January 23, and will kick off the homestand with the annual Men's and Women's Basketball Alumni Weekend.
 
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