Finally returning to Romano Gymnasium after a two-week road trip, the University of Minnesota Duluth picked up an interdivisional Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Upper Iowa University on Friday night, 74-62 in Duluth.

UMD (11-10, 9-8 NSIC) improves its standing in the NSIC North division as the team looks to pull ahead in the stalemate for homefield advantage in the first round of the playoffs with just five games to go. Upper Iowa (6-15, 4-13 NSIC), already eliminated from a top-four seed in the south, will have to wait another day to start a playoff push.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Senior guard Danielle Flood led four Bulldogs to hit double digits scoring on the night with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She added a team-high four assists (tied with junior guard Taylor Dillinger), a block, and a steal. Junior forward Taylor Meyer led UMD with eight rebounds, netting 11 points on the night. Sophomore forward Kenzie Kane added 10 points off the bench for the Bulldogs.
• Senior guard LIndsay Carroll and senior forward Lauren Buck each hit double figures for Upper Iowa with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Buck tied with senior center Olivia Winkler for a team-high six rebounds.

UMD held Upper Iowa without a basket for the final two minutes of the first half as they took a 39-34 lead to the locker room, and opened up the second half with a 16-0 run finally snapped by a Winkler jumper with 6:34 off the clock. In total, the Bulldogs out-scored the Peacocks 22-2 over an 8:33 span, allowing just a pair of free throws late in the opening half. UMD led by 24, the game-high, with 9:30 remaining off a three by Kane before Upper Iowa made headway against the Bulldog bench late in the game.

UMD's reserves outscored Upper Iowa's 24-15, with five different Bulldogs netting at least a basket off the bench. The Bulldogs shot evenly, 45.0 percent for the game after a 47.1 percent opening half. UMD was 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Upper Iowa shot 43.1 percent on the night, but finished just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. The two teams combined for 28 points on the free throw line (12-of-18 for UMD).
 

The Bulldogs continue at Romano Gym for three of their final five games, including Saturday night when UMD plays host to Winona State University in another NSIC outing. Opening tip is set for 4:00 p.m.