Aberdeen, S.D. – On night one of I Hate Winter weekend, the Northern State University women's basketball team picked up their eighth win from Wachs' Arena with an 86-63 victory over Upper Iowa. The Wolves are now 16-5 overall and 12-5 in the NSIC, while the Peacocks drop to 3-18 overall and 3-14 in conference play.

The two teams battled in the first quarter as the Peacocks captured their only lead of the game at 9-8. NSU took control by the end of the quarter, closing out the first ten minutes of play with a five-point lead. The Wolves increased their scoring gap by the end of the next quarter, entering the half with the 41-29 advantage.

Upper Iowa responded with 34 second half points, however it was not enough to overcome NSU's additional 45. The Wolves held the Peacocks to a shooting percentage of just 7.7 percent in the final quarter to seal the 23-point victory.

As a unit, the Wolves shot 51.7 percent from field goal range, 40.0 percent from the arc, and 76.2 percent from the charity stripe while collecting 47 rebounds, 21 assists, nine blocks and three steals. NSU tallied 26 points in the paint, 21 second chance points and 23 points off the bench.

The Wolves ended the contest with four players scoring in double-digits. Paige Waytashek led all scorers with 21 points on the night, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the three-point arc. Miranda Ristau followed with 12 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and five blocks.

Jill Conrad also posted a double-double for the Wolves with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Both Conrad and Ristau recorded four assists a piece. Freshman starters, Jessi Marti and Brianna Kusler each finished with ten and nine points respectively.

Northern State will host No. 20 Winona State tomorrow evening at 4 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 6 p.m.