THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… The UIU women's basketball team is on the road to tip off 2017. The Peacocks will play at the University of Sioux Falls on Friday at 6 p.m. before traveling to face Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
ONE LAST RUN... Senior Carly Pagel showed last week that there is enough gas left in the tank for one last run. The senior poured in 33 points in UIU's home split with Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. Pagel knocked in 13 of her 23 attempts from the field and surpassed 900 points in her career. The Sumner, Iowa product has now scored 929 points and needs just 71 points to become just the 12th Peacock women's basketball player to reach the 1,000-Point plateau.
 
SERIES HISTORY... Since UIU joined the Northern Sun prior to the 2006-07 season, the Peacocks are 12-8 against the SMSU Mustangs and 1-9 versus the USF Cougars. Upper Iowa had won nine straight match-ups against SMSU dating back to the 2011-12 season prior to the loss on Dec. 2, and have lost six straight to USF. The team's only win against the Cougars came in 2013 in Fayette (78-75).
 
LOOKING BACK- SMSU 79 - UIU 70... The Mustangs ran wild in the first quarter and built a sixteen-point lead on the way to a 79-70 victory over the Peacock women's basketball team. UIU closed the gap to one-point halfway through the third quarter, but the rally proved costly down the stretch. UIU was trailing by three midway through the fourth when they couldn't withstand one last push by the Mustangs. Upper Iowa controlled the inside outscoring SMSU 44-30 in points in the pant and 26-15 second chance points. Martin and Carly Pagel led the way for Upper Iowa combining for 26 points and 15 rebounds. Klostermann scored 18 points and handed out 4 assists, while Ray scored 13 points with 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Sam Ofstad scored 8 points and dished up 7 assists.
 
CHECKING THE REARVIEW - USF 67 - UIU 58... Upper Iowa came out with a strong first quarter scoring 19 in the opening frame, but the Cougars defense tightened and limited the Peacocks to just a pair of 12-point quarters on the way to a 67-58 win over UIU. A three-pointer by Klostermann snapped a tie and gave UIU a 19-16 lead at the first quarter break. USF closed out the half by outscoring the Peacocks 7-2 to claim a 35-31 lead. Sioux Falls continued to keep pressure on the Peacocks in the third and fourth quarters holding UIU to just 27 points while extending their lead to as many as 14 before settling on a 9-point win. Klostermann paced UIU's attack with 20 points on 8-10 shooting. Martin got her first career start for the Peacocks and made the most of it with 11 points and 4 rebounds, while Pagel netted 10 points. Upper Iowa committed 22 turnovers in the game which led to 22 points for the Cougars.