THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS... Upper Iowa will close out the 2017 calendar year on the road in northern Minnesota. The Peacocks will challenge the Beavers of Bemidji State University on Saturday afternoon and the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston on Sunday afternoon. UIU is on the hunt for their first conference wins of the season prior to the new year. Bemidji State is currently 2-3 on the season against NSIC foes, while Minnesota Crookston is 1-4 in the conference.
UIU LEADERS IN THE NSIC... Junior
Blair Klostermann leads the Peacocks in scoring with a 12.6 points/game average (15th NSIC), while freshman
Natalie Dinius is averaging 9.9 points/game in her first collegiate campaign. On the glass, Upper Iowa is averaging 34.9 rebounds/game led by junior
Haley Martin, who is pulling down 6.9 boards/game (9th NSIC), and senior
Ashley Rosenstiel, who is grabbing 5 rebounds/game. Rosenstiel is also handing out a team-high 1.6 assists per game and snatching 1.5 steals/game (8th NSIC). As a team, UIU is averaging 55.3 points/game, while allowing 68.9 points/game. The Peacocks have only given up more than 70 points on three occassions. The two times that UIU has scored 70 or more points, the team has earned their only wins of the season.
SECOND & THIRD QUARTER WOES... Upper Iowa has struggled in the second and third quarters this season averaging just 13.5 points in the second quarter and 12.5 points in the third quarter, while allowing 19.6 points to their opponents in the second frame and 15.8 in the third. The nine-point disadvantage has been too much to overcome in the fourth quarter this season.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS... Bemidji State shot 43.3 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from long range and 89.5 percent from the free throw line while also outscoring the Golden Eagles' bench, 29-10, in the win. Freshman guard Brooklyn Bachmann tied a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to lead the Beavers in scoring on the night. Bachmann tied BSU's rebound lead with seven boards and added three steals and two assists. Sophomore center Sydney Arrington, in her first career start, dropped 12 points on 50 percent shooting with three rebounds, two assists and one block. Freshman guard Sydney Zerr also added a career-high 12 points on four 3-pointers off the bench. Bachmann leads BSU and ranks ninth in the NSIC in scoring with 13.4 points per game. She has scored at least 20 points in three games this season, totaling a career-high 22 points twice. Bachmann has led BSU scoring during five of the team's nine contests. Senske holds BSU's all-time records for free throws made (369) and free throw attempts (514).
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES... Minnesota Crookston has been led on the season by Isieoma Odor in the post with 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Micaela Noga comes in tallying 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Caitlin Michaelis has shown vast improvement this season as she is tallying 10.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. She is shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. Emily Gruber, a senior forward for Minnesota Crookston, comes in averaging 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Gruber is averaging 11.0 points per game over the last six contests for Minnesota Crookston. Off of the bench, Abby Guidinger has made an impact for the Golden Eagles in recent games after returning from injury. Guidinger is tallying 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the last two games for Minnesota Crookston. Stephanie McWilliams, a sophomore from Grand Forks, N.D., is a starter in the back court for the Golden Eagles. McWilliams is notching 3.2 points and 2.6 assists per game for Minnesota Crookston.
