New Era in Peacock Women's Hoops… Micha Thompson takes over the program after having served as an assistant coach with the basketball program at Utah State University, a NCAA Division I member of the Mountain West Conference in Logan, Utah for the last four years. Thompson led the Peacocks to a 66-56 victory over Wartburg College in the team's only exhibition game in the preseason; the Knights reached the NCAA Division III Final Four last season.
 
Drury Inn Tip-Off Tournament Schedule… Upper Iowa will kick off its season in St. Joseph, Mo. at the Drury Inn Tip-Off Tournament with games against Fort Hays State University and Missouri Western State University on Nov. 11-12. UIU's home openers are slated for Dec. 2-3 against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.
 
Rivalry Revisted… Peacock fans poured into Dorman Gymnasium on Monday night to get a glimpse of this year's edition of Upper Iowa women's basketball.  UIU hosted former Iowa Conference foe Wartburg College in an exhibition game on Prochaska Court. Upper Iowa rallied from a first half deficit and controlled the fourth quarter to pull away from their guests and claim the victory 66-56. Wartburg is picked to win the IIAC this season coming off their final four trip at the NCAA Division III Championship last season. The Peacocks made the most of their 16 offensive rebounds scoring an 11-2 advantage in second chance points.  Upper Iowa also shot well on the night as well converting 40.3% of their shots including 38.1% (8-21) from behind the arc and 72.7% (8-11) at the charity stripe. UIU won the rebounding battle 40-36 and came up with 8 steals on defense. Sam Ofstad scored a team-high 22 points thanks to four trifectas and 4-4 shooting at the free throw line, while newcomer Blair Klostermann (16) and Carly Pagel (15) both reached double figures as well.  Kari Fitzpatrick netted 9 points and Ashley Rosenstiel added 4.  On the glass, the Peacocks were led by Fitzpatrick and Pagel, who each cleared 9 boards. Ofstad added 4 assists and a pair of steals.
 
NSIC Player to Watch… Redshirt senior Carly Pagel was named as UIU's NSIC Player to Watch heading into her redshirt senior season. The Sumner, Iowa native played and started in all 29 games during the 2015-16 season, and averaged 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Pagel, the 2013 NSIC Freshman of the Year, finished second on the team in shooting percentage, converting at a 42.8% clip. Pagel is nearing the 1,000-point threshold this season; she currently has 839 career points.
 
Scouting the Tigers... Fort Hays State has been picked to finish fourth in the MIAA this year marking the fourth-straight year the team has been picked to finish in the top-four in the league. Entering his ninth season at the helm, head coach Tony Hobson returns seven players from a year ago including two starters and two All-MIAA honorees. The Tigers reached the NCAA Central Region tournament for the second-straight time last season earning a trip to the NCAA tournament in consecutive years for the first time in program history. The Tigers have won 18 conference games in each of the last two seasons, finishing in the top-two in the final standings each year.
 
Scouting the Griffons... Griffon Women's Basketball team host the Drury Inn Tip-Off Tournament as they start the defense of their MIAA Championship this weekend.  Missouri Western returns eight players from last year's team that qualified for the NCAA Central Region and set the conference record for most MIAA wins in a season. Chelsea Dewey returns to run the point for MWSU, who was selected fifth in the MIAA preseason poll.  Dewey, All-MIAA a year ago, averaged 3.9 assists per game and finished the year with a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio.  Also back for the Griffons is Dwanisha Tate who averaged 6.3 points per game and shot 46% from the three point line.