FAYETTE, Iowa – FAYETTE, Iowa – Sophomore guard Maggie Gernbacher (Bloomington, Minn.) poured in 21 points on seven-of-12 from the field including five three-point field goals to help the Bemidji State University women's basketball team its third victory of the 2004-05 season Tuesday with a 73-58 win over Upper Iowa. The win was BSU's first since a Nov. 26th triumph over Colorado State-Pueblo ending a five-game losing streak.

Brittni Nelson hit a three-pointer just 37 seconds into the game to give the Peacocks the first lead of the game. The Beavers would come back to tie the game twice in the first nine minutes before taking the lead (17-16) or good on a Stacia Swanson (Sioux City, Iowa) jump shot with 10:57 to go in the opening stanza.

The Beavers would never look back stretching their lead to as many as nine (35-26) before the team went to the locker rooms with a 38-30 halftime lead.

The first half saw the Beavers outshoot UIU by a 57.7 percent-to-42.9 percent margin while the teams each pulled down 13 boards.

Gernbacher led all first half scorers with 11 points on four-of-seven from the floor and two-of-five from beyond the arc.

BSU held off a Peacock early second half run that saw UIU outscore the Beavers 8-3 in the first 2:50 of the half to come within three points (41-38) countering with a 15-2 run of their own to take a 15-point advantage (55-40) with less than 14:00 to play. The Beavers powered to a victory by the same margin defeating the Peacocks 73-58.

Bemidji State finished the game shooting 51.8 (29-56) percent while UIU shot 40.0 (22-55). The Beavers also took a slight lead on the glass (34-31).

Gernbacher led all scorers with 21. Swanson, a senior co-captain and 2004 NSIC Preseason Player to Watch, made her first appearance since suffering a knee injury Nov. 22. In her return to the line-up, she was second on the team with 12 points while tying freshman Stephanie Peterson (Bismarck, N.D.) for the team lead with five rebounds in 25 minutes of play. Peterson also tallied a career-best 12 points in the game connecting on six-of-seven from the floor. Freshman Amy Lawson (Spencer, Iowa) equaled a game-high six assists while sophomore Tara Dockter (Bismarck, N.D.) pitched in a game-best and career-high five steals.

Christa Hammel led the Peacocks with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The win improves BSU's overall record to 3-7. The team continues its Iowa road swing Thursday (Jan. 30) with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Morningside, the defending NAIA Division II national champion and current No. 2 team in the NAIA.