This Weekend in Peacock Hoops… Upper Iowa will hit the road for a pair of NSIC South Division matchups against the Vikings of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday before taking the short trip south into Nebraska to take on the Wildcats of Wayne State College. UIU defeated Wayne State 55-48 on Jan. 22 before falling to Augustana the next evening 84-61. The Peacocks had lost the first 20 games of their series with WSC prior to the victory. This weekend's two games will end the regular season for Upper Iowa and determine where the Peacocks will play for their first round game of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament next Wednesday night, Feb. 24.
Rewriting the Record Book… Senior
Whitney Kieffer, a two-time All-NSIC performer, surpassed the 1,700-point plateau last weekend and currently has the program record for points in a career at 1,728. The Peacock guard broke the all-time mark during the second game of the season while scoring 29 points against Missouri Western State University and has been adding to her record tally since. Kieffer has pulled down 668 rebounds in her career as well which is fifth best all-time, 21 shy of Chelsea Peterson's fourth place mark of 689 (2004-08).
Third Times the Charm… Senior
Aleesha Cleaver, has played ball at three different colleges, but found a home at Upper Iowa. The guard has led the Peacocks this season with her 13.2 point per game average and has scored 529 points in her two years in Fayette. The Davis, Ill. product scored 33 points as a freshman at Roosevelt University and 349 points at Rock Valley College as a sophomore giving her 911 points in her collegiate career.
Pagel Pushing Through… Junior
Carly Pagel has had a tough road to navigate in her four years with the UIU women's basketball team. The NSIC's Freshman of the Year in 2013 suffered a knee injury at the end of her freshman season that limited her training during the offseason prior to her sophomore campaign. By the end of her sophomore season Pagel had nearly repeated her stats from her freshman season, but a second knee injury prior to her junior season forced the Sumner, Iowa native to redshirt last year. Pagel has returned again and is on track this season to match her stats from the first two years as a Peacock. In her three seasons, she has scored 813 points and pulled down 452 rebounds.
About the Vikings… Head Coach Dave Krauth picked up his 550th win of his career against #25 Sioux Falls Saturday at the Stewart Center 64-54. The win makes Krauth the 16th winningest coach in Division II women's basketball. Augustana has won 6 of their last 7 games including three straight including a 70-60 win over Southwest Minnesota State last Friday. Augustana is 10-2 overall and 7-2 in NSIC games at home this year. Augie's Sophie Kenney boasts the 5th best assist to turnover ratio in Division II (3.09). The Vikings rank 28th in Division II and are tops in the NSIC in points per game (74.5).
About the Wildcats… Wayne State split a pair of NSIC South Division matchups with a loss at #25 Sioux Falls and a win at SMSU. Senior guard Sadie Murren scored double figures in both games with 14 at USF and 10 at SMSU. Junior forward Alisa Peterson scored career-high 21 points off the bench in the Wildcats' win at Southwest Minnesota State. The Wildcats are led by Paige Ballinger, who averages 15 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and Maggie Schulte, who averages 14.1 points to go along 6.1 rebounds.
