The two teams kept it close in the first half, where they combined for six lead changes and five ties over 20 minutes of play.

Vanessa Johnson's layup seconds into game sparked a 10-0 run to give the Cougars a quick 10-0 lead at the 17:34 mark, but UIU quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own over the next three minutes of the half.

USF would go up by as much as five points near the 11 minutes mark, but the teams traded buckets over the remainder of the half to make it, USF, 33-32 at the break. Senior guard Vanessa Johnson led all scorers with 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Cougars got off to a great start, but finished the first half shooting just 30% to a 40% from the field from UIU.

In the second half, UIU would tie USF's score with 14 minutes left in the game, but never claim the lead.

USF turned it up over the next four minutes, extending their lead to eight points as Jamie Hofer's jumper at the 10:05 mark capped off a Cougar 8-0 run.

The Peacocks weren't done and Lyndsay Westgaard cut USF's lead to just three with six minutes to go. That's when Laura Johnson caught fire. She knocked down three 3-pointers during the final six minutes to play, extending USF's lead to 11 at one point and help seal a 67-57 road win for the Cougars.

UIU outshot USF from the field, 32%-31%, but the ability to make 3-pointers was the difference in tonight's game. The Cougars held that advantage, as they made seven 3-pointers, while the Peacocks made three.

Vanessa Johnson led USF with 15 points, four steals and two assist. The Cougars also received a great contribution from Holli Aggen. She filled the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds and five assist. Bailey Bouman led the Cougars with eight rebounds from the guard position.

USF travels to Colorado this weekend for a pair of matchups against the Colorado School of Mines Friday and Regis University on Saturday.