THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS... Upper Iowa will return home to Dorman Gymnasium for the first home games of the calendar year. UIU will host the USF Cougars on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by the SMSU Mustangs at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

LEADING THE PEACOCKS… Junior Blair Klostermann is leading the Peacocks in scoring with 12.3 points per game, while freshman Natalie Dinius has used the three-point line to her advantage to average 9.7 points a contest. Klostermann has scored 50 points this season at the charity stripe where the Dyersville native is shooting 87.7%. Dinius has converted a team-high 29 trifectas and is shooting 39.2% from behind the arc. Upper Iowa is averaging 34.7 rebounds per game led by junior Haley Martin, who is pulling down 6.8 boards a game, while five other Peacocks are averaging between 4 and 5 rebounds. Senior Ashely Rosenstiel is pacing the team in both assists per game (1.8) and steals per game (1.7), while scoring 6.2 points and grabbing 4.5 rebounds. Freshman Savannah Domeyer is leading the team in shooting percentage, the Peacock center is knocking down 41.1% of her attempts from the floor.
 
FIRST MEETING… UIU dropped a pair of road games at Southwest Minnesota State (75-55) and Sioux Falls (83-41) on the first weekend of December. Against SMSU, the Peacocks never converted more than four field goals in a quarter and only knocked down three three-pointers in the game. Southwest Minnesota State's trapping 2-3 zone allowed UIU's shooters open looks, but the Peacocks could not find the bottom of the net. Upper Iowa scored 22 of their points at the free throw line converting all but four of their attempts. In Sioux Falls, the Cougars dominated the opening two quarters pushing out to a 52-20 lead at the break. The home team was on fire in the first quarter knocking down 11 of their 14 shots including 6 of 7 from behind the three-point line. USF cooled in the second quarter, but still converted 4 three-pointers and 5 free throws to cross the 50-point mark prior to halftime.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls dropped its first two games against NSIC south division opponents this season in losses to Wayne State and Augustana. The back-to-back losses are the first for the team this season and just the second time in the last three years. USF surpassed 100 made 3-pointers for the season (first team in the NSIC) after hitting eight and seven against Wayne State and Augustana, respectively. Mariah Szymanski averaged 24.5 points while hitting two new career-high scoring marks, posting 18 for a new career-high against Wayne State then tied the USF Division II scoring record with 31 points against Augustana.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS… SMSU saw its losing streak move to six straight after dropping a pair of NSIC South contests over the weekend to Wayne State and Augustana. SMSU scored a season high 77 points in its loss on Saturday to Augustana, and had four players reach double figures. Senior forward Lauren Hedlund became the 19th member of the 1,000-point club earlier this season against the Peacocks, and will square off with UIU again Saturday. SMSU has outscored opponents 205-186 in the fourth quarter of games so far this season, its only positive scoring differential of any quarter.