THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS... The Peacocks play their lone game of the week on Saturday afternoon in Winona, Minn. Upper Iowa will line up against the Warriors of Winona State University at 4 p.m. in a rematch of the teams' game in Fayette on Nov. 25. WSU won the first contest 65-56 as both teams opened play in the NSIC that day.
THE FIRST MEETING WITH THE WARRIORS... The Warriors earned a 65-56 victory over the Peacocks thanks to a big third quarter that saw the visitors push a six-point, halftime lead to an eighteen-point advantage heading into the final quarter. UIU closed the gap with a strong fourth, but the hole was too deep to climb out of. Both defenses controlled the tempo in the first quarter as each squad came away with 13 points at the horn. A three-pointer from
Natalie Dinius and a layup by
Savannah Domeyer early in the second quarter gave Upper Iowa a two-point edge, 18-16. The lead was the last of the game for UIU; Winona State rallied with an 11-0 run in just over two minutes to take a 27-18 lead. The Peacocks outscored their guests 12-9 over the final five minutes of the half to cut the gap to six, 36-30, at the break. Winona State took charge in the third quarter pushing their lead at halftime into an eighteen-point cushion moving into the final quarter. The Peacocks owned the fourth quarter and outscored the Warriors 16-7 over the final ten minutes, but WSU's lead was too much to overcome.
Blair Klostermann and Domeyer led the team in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Dinius joined the pair in double figure scoring with 10 points.
Haley Martin pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds.
Ashley Ray handed out 4 assists.
UIU LEADERS IN THE NSIC... Blair Klostermann is ranked 18th in the NSIC in scoring with 12 points per game average.
Haley Martin is grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 8th best in the conference. Klostermann has been taking advantage of her time at the free throw line converting 86.3% of her shots.
Ashley Rosenstiel is snagging 1.6 steals per game leading the Peacock defense.
Natalie Dinius is knocking down 2.1 three-pointers per game, the sixth highest average among NSIC sharp-shooters. Rosenstiel is also pulling down 2.2 offensive rebounds (12th NSIC), while Martin is snaring 6.1 defensive rebounds (8th NSIC). As a team, UIU is averaging 55.4 points per game on offense, but is allowing 69.0 points per game. The second and third quarters are UIU's biggest hurdles to overcome; the Peacocks are losing the second quarter by an average of nearly six points and the third quarter by an average of nearly four points.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS... The Warriors are 8-1 (4-1 NSIC) with a three-game win streak. WSU is near the top of many statistical categories in the conference. Winona State ranks fourth in scoring (73.3), first in field goal percentage (49%), and second in three-point field goal percentage (37%). Freshman standout Allie Pickrain is continuing to prove she belongs in the Warrior starting lineup. She is averaging 12 points per game while shooting 47% from three-point range and knocking down 11-of-17 free throw attempts. She has scored in double figures in seven of the nine games this season. Hannah McGlone is having herself one heck of a senior season so far. This season, she is shooting a league-leading 62% from the field and has already tallied 97 rebounds in nine games. McGlone continues to occupy the fifth spot on the conference scoring list (15 ppg) and still holds the top spot in rebounds per game (10.8).
