LIVE OPTIONS
LIVE STATS: FRI. VS. UMC - SAT. VS. BSU || LIVE WEBCAST || NSICSCORES.COM
WEEKLY NOTES
UPPER IOWA || MINNESOTA CROOKSTON || BEMIDJI STATE || NORTHERN SUN
THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa will head to northern Minnesota for a pair of cross-division games in the Northern Sun Conference on Friday and Saturday. The Peacocks will challenge the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston (13-5, 10-4 NSIC) and the Beavers of Bemidji State University (6-12, 2-12 NSIC). UIU is coming off a split at home last weekend thanks to their upset of Wayne State College, while UMC defeated Minnesota State University Moorhead, but lost to Northern State University at home to remain in a three-way tie for second place in the NSIC North. BSU lost to both the Dragons and Wolves to fall to eighth place in the north. Upper Iowa sits in seventh place in the NSIC South, but trails fifth place by only one game.
CATCHING UP WITH THE PEACOCKS ... Last weekend, the Peacocks broke through a defensive slugfest in the fourth quarter outscoring Wayne State 22-17 to claim a 55-48 upset of the Wildcats. Senior guard
Aleesha Cleaver led Upper Iowa with 17 points including 15 in the second half. Upper Iowa limited Wayne State to a meager 7.1% (1-14) from behind the three-point line and 4 offensive rebounds in the contest. On Saturday, the Augustana Vikings controlled the first and third quarters to leave Fayette with an 84-61 decision; three Peacocks scored 12 against Augie including freshman
Kari Fitzpatrick, who recorded a career-high. Cleaver,
the featured athlete in the first edition of Peacock Profile, and fellow senior
Whitney Kieffer lead the team in scoring with 13.2 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, while juniors
Carly Pagel and
Sam Ofstad are adding 9.6 and 7.5 points each contest. On the glass, Kieffer (5.4) and Pagel (5.1) are combining for 10.1 rebounds per game and Cleaver (4.2) and freshman
Karlee Grabau (4.0) are grabbing another 8.2 together. Ofstad recorded 6 assists per game over the weekend to take over the team lead in assists with 43.
GOLDEN EAGLES SOARING HIGH… The Golden Eagles continue to find success behind the arc on the season. UMC is shooting 42.7 percent from long range, which is second in the nation. UMC is led by Alexa Thielman, who is eighth in the nation with a 46.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. Alison Hughes is shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc, while Micaela Noga is shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. UMC's pair of seniors Alexa Thielman and Katrina Nordick continue to break milestones as they are currently No. 4 and No. 3 on the all-time scoring charts at UMC.
LEAVE IT TO THE BEAVERS… Bemidji State ranks 10th in the NSIC with 67.6 points per game. The team ranks 4th with 34.3 percent (118-344) from behind the arc, 9th with 70.7 percent (249-352) from the free throw line and 14th with 37.7 percent (425-1,127) from the field. The Beavers are grabbing 38.5 rebounds per game, ranking 13th in the NSIC. Bemidji State is holding opponents to 41 percent (443-1,080) from the field and 31.3 percent (88-281) from long range. The Beavers allow 41.2 rebounds per game. Aimee Pelzer (13.7 PPG) leads the team and ranks 16th in the NSIC in scoring. In addition, she leads the team in 3-point percent (38.7 percent), assists (3.8 APG) and steals (2.3 SPG).
