THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS... Upper Iowa (2-16, 0-12 NSIC) gets on the road this weekend to open a four-game road trip. The Peacocks will line up against the No. 11 Vikings of Augustana University (15-1, 11-1 NSIC) in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday night and then take on the Wildcats of Wayne State College (14-6, 8-4 NSIC) in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday. Upper Iowa will have their hands full with the two best offenses in the Northern Sun Conference this weekend. Augustana is averaging 82 points per game, while Wayne State is scoring 77.1 points per game.
PEACOCK LEADERS... Upper Iowa's scoring output of 53.4 points per game is led by junior Blair Klostermann's 12.3 average, but Klostermann continues to be sidelined with an injury. Freshman Natalie Dinius is averaging 9.6 points per game thanks to her effectiveness at the three-point line. Dinius is converting 34% (35-103) of her deep-range targets. Senior Angelica De Paulo is netting 7.7 points per game since returning from injury, while senior Ashley Rosenstiel and sophomore Bekka Pierson are averaging 6.2 and 5.8 points per game. On the glass, the Peacocks are led by junior Haley Martin's 6.2 rebounds per game and have six other players that average between 2 and 5 boards a contest. Rosenstiel leads the team in both assists (30), steals (27) and minutes (517).
SCOUTING THE No. 11 VIKINGS… Augustana started the 2017-18 season with 14 straight wins, which was the best start in program history and the longest win streak since the Vikings won 20 in a row from Nov. 5, 2006 to Jan. 20, 2007. Augie had its win streak snapped when they lost at MSU Moorhead last Friday, Jan. 12, 75-64, but quickly regrouped, as the Vikings knocked off No. 20 Northern State 77-64 in Aberdeen. Senior guard Logan O'Farrell is Augustana's leading scorer. The Summit, S.D. native is coming off a 22 point performance in the win over Northern State and is averaging 14 points a game. Presley O'Farrell averages 12.9 points per game while Shelby Selland pours in 11.1 points per game. As a team, the Vikings are shooting 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the arc. Their 82 points per game is No. 1 in the NSIC and ninth nationally.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS… The Wildcats shoot 43.8 percent from the field (4th-NSIC), 36.1 percent from the 3-point line (3rd-NSIC) and 80 percent at the free throw line (2nd-NSIC, 7th-NCAA Div. II). WSC ranks third in the league in turnover margin (+3.50) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1) while ranking second in blocked shots per game (4.9), second in steals (9.3) and fourth in assists per game (15.8). Seniors Maggie Schulte and Paige Ballinger each average 12.0 points per game to lead the Wildcats offensively. Schulte leads the 'Cats in rebounding (6.4 per game) and leads the NSIC with 82 made free throws while ranking fourth in free throw percentage (.882) and 3-point field goal percentage (.468). Ballinger adds 5.6 rebounds per game and is third in the NSIC with 2.2 blocked shots per contest.
