THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa's women's basketball team will play in Minnesota and South Dakota this Friday and Saturday. The Peacocks will take on the top two teams in the Northern Sun Conference North Division. UIU will challenge the Wolves of Northern State University on Friday and then head farther north to line up against the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday.
LEADING THE PEACOCK ATTACK... Sophomore
Blair Klostermann and senior
Carly Pagel have been at the top of opposing coaches scouting reports since the holiday break. Klostermann is the top scorer in the NSIC averaging 17.9 points per game, while Pagel is netting 10.3 points and pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game. Additionally, Upper Iowa got scores from eight different players in Saturday's home win over Minot State University 65-53.
Sam Ofstad has paced the attack with 3.8 assists per game, while adding 8.0 points a contest.
LOOKING IN THE REARVIEW... The Peacocks snapped a five-game skid with their ten-point win over Minot State on Saturday after the team lost a heartbreaker on Friday night 59-57 to U-Mary. Upper Iowa held their guests to 39.5% shooting and only 3 three-pointers all weekend while allowing just 56 points per game. UIU enjoyed their best shooting night of the season (48%) against Minot State to fuel their third victory of the season. Pagel led the Peacocks with 20 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday and averaged 17.5 points and 9 boards over the weekend as the redshirt senior shot 65% from the floor. Klostermann netted 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while
Madi Meier came off the bench on Saturday to knock down four triples; she had five three-pointers over the weekend.
Sam Ofstad averaged 6 assists per game including 9 on Saturday versus Minot State
SCOUTING THE WOLVES… The Wolves enter the annual "I Hate Winter" weekend on a 4-game win streak in league action. Northern State is currently ranked second in the NSIC North and fourth in the conference overall with a 9-5 record. As a team, NSU is shooting 45.3% from the floor, 33.5% from the arc, and 71.4%, while averaging 68.8 points, 38.3 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 14.0 turnovers, 6.5 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game. The Wolves lead the NSIC in rebounding margin collecting an average of 7.5 more boards/game than their opponents. Jill Conrad is second in the NSIC in free-throw percentage; she has knocked down 46 of her 50 opportunities.
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS… The Dragons, ranked No. 16 in the latest WBCA poll, enter the week at 17-3 overall and 14-2 in the NSIC. They lead the conference by one game over Friday's opponent, Winona State with six games remaining. MSUM split on the road last weekend, beating SMSU 73-66 before losing to USF 66-61. Junior forward Drew Sannes leads MSUM at 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while junior guard Cassidy Thorson averages 15.0 points per game. The Dragons allow 57.0 points per game, second-best in the NSIC. Teams are shooting only 38.2 percent against the Dragons this season. MSUM outrebounds its foes 36.8-31.5 and scores 70.4 points per game.
