THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa returns back home to Dorman Gymnasium for another pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match-ups. The Peacocks will first welcome the University of Sioux Falls Cougars for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on Fri. Jan. 25. Upper Iowa will then host the Southwest Minnesota State University Cougars the following afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Friday night is Throwback Night in Dorman; fans are encouraged to dress up from their favorite decade while the Peacocks host the Cougars. This weekend also marks the UIU Basketball Reunion Weekend. Former Peacock hoopsters are invited to the games as well as pregame shoot-arounds on Saturday. Watch the games from the VIP Suite with complimentary food and cash bar. At halftime of each game, alumni basketball players will be recognized.
 
IT'S A SLAM DUNK… DON'T DRIVE DRUNK… The NSIC and Upper Iowa have designated this weekend as our It's a Slam Dunk… Don't Drive Drunk weekend to raise awareness about drunk driving. The Upper Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members will be collecting signatures from fans pledging not to drive drunk. This campaign started in 2013 to commemorate Drake Bigler, the five-month-old son of Southwest Minnesota State University Men's Basketball Coach Brad Bigler, who was killed by a drunk driver. Please help UIU and the NSIC and pledge not to drive drunk.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans who can't make it to the game have several options to follow the action from home or on the go through the links above or UIUPeacocks.com/Live. Webcast and live stats will be available for both matches. The games can also be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.3 or streamed live on the NSIC Channel through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple and Android TV's.
 
A LOOK BACK… Upper Iowa dropped a pair of road games last weekend against Bemidji State University, 65-56, and University of Minnesota Crookston, 75-64. The Peacocks led by as many as 10 in the 4^th quarter against BSU but the Beavers rallied with a 23-4 fourth quarter to steal the win. On Saturday, Minnesota Crookston capitalized on three scoreless droughts from the Peacocks that combined for 33 points and over 13 minutes of the contest to secure the victory. The Peacocks shot 36.7 percent overall and were efficient at the charity stripe converting 27-of-37 attempts including 15-of-16 against UMC. Upper Iowa was led by Bekka Pierson who averaged 10.5 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Pierson added eight rebounds, three assists, and a block. Natalie Dinius averaged three boards and 10 points fueled by 5-for-11 shooting from deep. Haley Martin averaged 8.5 points (7-for-17 FG) and 8.5 rebounds to go with two assists and three steals. Laker Ward averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and a steal. Ally Fink averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 blocks.
 
SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics

• Natalie Dinius – 9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 7 steals, 35.6% 3FG
• Savannah Domeyer – 9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 31 blocks, 8 steals, 48.7% FG
• Bekka Pierson – 7.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 11 blocks, 2 steal, 45.8% FG
• Emma Gaber – 7.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 10 steals, 31.5% 3FG
• Haley Martin – 5.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5 blocks, 11 steals, 33.0% FG
• Laker Ward – 3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 9 steals, 42.9% 3FG
• Casey Miles – 4.4 ppg, 2.1 apg, 19 steals
• Marina Peinado - 2.2 ppg, 2.1 apg, 20 steals 

 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls (12-6, 7-5 NSIC) dropped a 70-63 decision to the University of Mary and picked up a 59-54 win over Minot State University last weekend at home. USF has won four of its last six games and are tied for third place in the NSIC South Division with Wayne State College. Sioux Falls ranks sixth in the conference in scoring defense at 59.3 points per game and stands fourth in scoring at 71.3 points per game. The Cougars lead the league with a 6.61 turnover margin and rank sixth in field goal shooting at 41.2 percent. The team is led by Kaely Hummel who averages 15.4 points (5^th in NSIC) on 41.1 percent shooting beyond the arc and 44.7 percent overall (8^th in NSIC). Hannah Jones is USF's leading rebounder with 5.9 per game while Anna Goodhope hauls in 4.7 per game.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS… Southwest Minnesota State (8-9, 5-7 NSIC) fell to Minot State in overtime 72-66 on Friday before bouncing back with a slim 64-62 decision over U-Mary on Saturday to mark their 8^th win of the season, the most since the 2010-11 season. SMSU ranks sixth in scoring offense with 70.1 points per game but allows the second-most points in the league with 70.8 points per game. The Mustangs have three individuals averaging double-digits including Caleigh Rodning (13.7 ppg), Meleah Reinhart (11.7 ppg), and Sadie Stelter (10.2 ppg). Rodning pulls in a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game followed by Abuk Akoi with 4.5 per game and Sara Teske with 4.0 per game.
 
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will head north for NSIC games against St. Cloud State University on Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. and University of Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m.