BOX SCORE

FAYETTE, Iowa – Abby Kenealy scored a career-high 24 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 80-54 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Upper Iowa Saturday night in Fayette, Iowa.

SMSU improves to 10-4 (4-3 NSIC); UIU falls to 1-13 (0-8 NSIC).

Kenealy's sparkling performance came on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, including a career-high four three-pointers. It was also career night for Miley Hunziker as the true freshman dropped 18 points on the Peacocks. Heather Smith added 13 points for the Mustangs in the win.

Laura Kramer grabbed a team high eight rebounds for SMSU, while Megan Stadler tied a career best with a game-high 10 assists

SMSU started the contest on a 6-0 run and took a seven-point lead six minutes in behind eight points off the bench from Hunziker. She nailed a trio of three-pointers in the game's opening ten minutes and was in double figures by the midway point.

From just inside the 10-minute mark, the Mustangs managed to hold the Peacocks scoreless for three minutes and mount a 10-0 run to move ahead 30-20 with 6:45 left before the break.

SMSU took its largest lead of the half with a minute left when Smith converted a pair of free throws to give her squad an 11-point advantage at 41-30.

Lana Otting hit a bucket for UIU before the half to trim the Mustang lead to nine points heading into the locker room.

Hunziker had already tied a career-high by scoring 15 point in the first half—doing it in just nine minutes of action; Kenealy also had 14 points for the Mustangs in the opening half.

SMSU managed to connect on five three-pointers in the first half with three of them coming from Hunziker and the other two from Kenealy.

Both offenses slowed to start the second half as the Mustangs put up just 10 points in the first eight minutes. UIU was able to cut into the SMSU lead after the Mustangs returned it to 11 points twice in those opening eight minutes. The Peacocks got to within six points with 13:13 left in the game when Kenya Howard drained a pair of free throws to make it 49-43.

Kenealy led the Mustangs back to a double-figure lead when she drilled a turnaround jumper to give SMSU a 55-45 lead. A three-pointer and another bucket in the next minute gave SMSU its largest lead of the game—13 points—at 60-47.

The Mustangs extended their lead to 15 after Voss found a cutting Smith for an easy layup to give SMSU a comfortable 64-49 with 7:51 left in the contest.

The Mustangs continued to widen the gap, finishing the contest on a 16-3 run and turning the difference into 26 points at game's end.

SMSU shot 43.3 percent from the floor in the win and outrebounded UIU 41-33.

SMSU returns home next weekend, hosting St. Cloud State and Concordia University, St. Paul.