THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa tips off the regular season at the MIAA/NSIC Tournament hosted by Fort Hays State University this season. Fellow NSIC-member Southwest Minnesota State University will join the action in Fort Hays, Kan. as well as MIAA-members Missouri Western State University and Fort Hays State.  The MIAA/NSIC Tournament debuted in the 2014-15 season and each team has hosted the tournament once. Live stats are available for free while webcasts are available for both games on a pay-per-view basis.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE… The Peacocks are set to kick off Friday's doubleheader against the Griffons of MWSU at 5 p.m. before fans can watch SMSU and FHSU battle at 7 p.m. On Saturday, SMSU and MWSU will start the action at 5:30 p.m. and UIU and FHSU will round out the tournament with a tip off at 7:30 p.m.

CATCH 22… Bekka Pierson (#22) played in every game last season and averaged 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. Pierson scored double-digit points in six games and was one rebound away from a double-double against the University of Minnesota Duluth last January. She saw a season-high 15 points against Northern State University in early February. The junior saw a solid start to the season in the exhibition game against University of Northern Iowa as she scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down four rebounds.

HIGH-FIVE… Natalie Dinius (#5) enters her sophomore season as UIU's lead scorer from last season. Dinius scored 249 points in her freshman campaign to average 8.6 points per game and recorded double-digits in 13 games. She converted 51 three-pointers in 2017-18 to rank 6^th on the NSIC leaderboard with nearly two made three-pointers a game. She made four shots beyond the arc at Augustana University en route to a season-high 18 points. The native from Canby, Minn. tallied eight points against UNI and had three assists and three steals, both team-highs.

24-KARAT MAGIC… Haley Martin (#24) returns as the lead rebounder from 2017-18 when she tallied 142 boards to put her in the top-30 on the NSIC rebounding leaderboard. The senior recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds – both career highs – to lead the Peacocks in a victory over McKendree University last season. Martin chipped in four points and three rebounds against Northern Iowa last weekend.    

COACHING ADDITIONS… Head Coach Micha Thompson is entering her third season at UIU and is joined by new Associate Coach Kelly Kielsmeier and Graduate Assistant Angelica De Paulo. Kielsmeier is making the transition to Upper Iowa after 10 years as the assistant at Wayne State College, and De Paulo joins the staff after spending last year on the court for the Peacocks.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS…

MISSOURI WESTERN… The Griffons are coming off a 13-18 overall record in 2017-18 and were picked in a sixth-place tie with Pittsburg State in the 2018-19 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season, MWSU made MIAA history winning two games in the MIAA Women's Basketball Championships as the No. 12 seed – the lowest seed to ever win in the tournament and lowest seed to ever advance to the semifinals. Head Coach Rob Edmission is in 7^th year at helm and looks to build off the impressive postseason run with nine returners and six newcomers in 2018-19. Melia Richardson, Dossou Ndiaye, and Cera Ledbetter were all 2017-18 MIAA honorable mentions and will lead the pack this season. Richardson finished last season averaging 11.3 points per game, Ledbetter was the Griffons' most efficient shooter at 53.3 percent, and Ndiaye averaged 5.3 boards per contest.

FORT HAYS STATE… Following a 26-7 overall mark in 2017-18, the Tigers were picked to finish runner-up behind defending national champion University of Central Missouri in both the 2018-19 MIAA Coaches and Media Preseason Polls. The Tigers fell to Central Missouri in the NCAA Central Regional Semifinals to close out last season. FHSU lost just one senior to graduation from last year's squad and return four all-conference performers in Tatyana Legette, Carly Heim, Kacey Kennett and Lanie Page. The four combined for almost 60 percent of scoring in 2017-18 led by Legette who averaged a team-high 13.2 points per game. Head Coach Tony Hobson begins his 11^th year at Fort Hays State.