THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS... UIU will hit the road this weekend for the final two games of the regular season. The Peacocks are heading west to Wayne, Nebraska on Friday and Sioux Falls, S.D. on Saturday. Upper Iowa will line up against two of the best teams in the Northern Sun South Division and the Central Region in the form of third-place Wayne State College and first-place Augustana University. Both teams were in the NCAA Division II Central Region Top 10 when the first ranking was released on Wednesday. The Wildcats are ninth in the region and the Vikings are 8th. In addition to the live stats and live webcast provided by UIU's opponents, an online audio broadcast with Zach Carlyle on the Peacock Sports Network will be available both days.

NEXT WOMAN UP... Upper Iowa's standout sophomore Blair Klostermann suffered an injury during the second half of Upper Iowa's win over Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday that has put an end to her first season in Peacock blue and white. UIU will turn to veterans Madi Meier and Blake Bergren, as well as a host of other Peacocks to fill the hole left by Klostermann. The guard is the top scorer in the Northern Sun (in conference games only) averaging 19.1 points per game. Klostermann tallied 423 points in her 24 starts this season including a high of 34 points at home against Wayne State. The Dyersville, Iowa native has scored in double figures in 20 of the team's 24 games and topped the 20-point mark 8 times.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP... Carly Pagel and Sam Ofstad were honored, along with Sarah Benson and Emily Gustafson, last Saturday after their upset of the Golden Bears.  The pair of seniors have produced for the Peacocks averaging 10.0 and 7.9 points per game, respectively. The two seniors will have to step up and lead their teammates in the absence of Klostermann.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS… Wayne State is riding a four-game win streak and has won six of their last seven games dating back to their 73-64 win against UIU in Fayette. Paige Ballinger leads the Wildcats with a 14.5 point per game average, while Anna Martensen (12.8) and Maggie Schulte (12.0) are also averaging double figures in scoring. Martensen is pulling down a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game, but Schulte is right behind her with 6.2 a contest. Haley Moore runs the offense with 3.8 assists per game. WSC is shooting 42.4% from the floor, while allowing only 37.3% to their opponents.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS... The Vikings will be back at home this weekend after defeating Sioux Falls in overtime and Southwest Minnesota State. Augustana has been the best offensive team in the NSIC this season averaging 76.7 points per game, which ranks 22nd nationally, during the conference season. Two Vikings are ranked in the top 40 for scoring in the NSIC. Logan O'Farrell is averaging 12.4 points a game and Naomi Rust is scoring 11.2 per game in conference play. Senior guard Sydney Rome continues to climb up the chart for most career 3-point field goals made. In her 113 games, the senior has made 190 career triples. She is currently in sole possession of sixth on the list. Logan O'Farrell is nearing the 1,000 career point milestone in her career. The junior is currently sitting at 996 career points and is just 4-points from becoming the 30th member of the Augustana women's basketball 1,000-point club.