THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa opens a four-game road trip this weekend when the Peacocks make the trek to Augustana University (RV) in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday night and Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday. The Peacocks will face the Vikings on Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. before battling the Wildcats on Jan. 12 at 3:30 p.m. This weekend's games will be the first played since Kelly Kielsmeier was named Interim Head Coach of the program.
 
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 streamed live on the NSIC Channel through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple and Android TV's.
 
LAST TIME OUT… Upper Iowa dropped two NSIC games at home last weekend to the hands of Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. In both contests, Upper Iowa was in a position to win the game but gave up a pair of late runs to give the guests double-digit victories. UIU pulled within four midway through the third quarter against NSU but was outscored 26-11 the rest of the way for a 61-42 loss. Similarly, the Peacocks trailed by three with 7:26 left in Saturday's game but a 16-7 MSUM run ended UIU's upset hopes with a 58-46 loss.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL… The Peacocks averaged 10.0 turnovers between last weekend's contests – 12.5 giveaways lower than the season average prior to the weekend. Upper Iowa won the turnover battle for the second time this season against Northern State (14-11) and improved its season-low in both contests. The Peacocks' previous season-low came against Wayne State (12) on Dec. 7 and now sits at nine.
 
SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics

• Natalie Dinius – 9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 7 steals, 33.6% 3FG
• Savannah Domeyer – 9.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 29 blocks, 8 steals, 46.0% FG
• Bekka Pierson – 7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 9 blocks, 2 steal, 45.0% FG
• Emma Gaber – 7.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 9 steals, 29.6% 3FG
• Haley Martin – 4.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5 blocks, 8 steals, 31.6% FG
• Laker Ward – 3.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 6 steals, 48.3% FG
• Marina Peinado - 2.0 ppg, 2.2 apg, 17 steals 

 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS… Augustana (14-3, 6-2 NSIC) dropped two NSIC contests on the road last weekend to Southwest Minnesota State University (74-71) and University of Sioux Falls (65-60), which broke a nine-game winning streak. The Mustangs scored a three-pointer at the buzzer for the win on Friday evening and the Vikings weren't able to complete a second-half comeback against the Cougars on Saturday. AU is led by Shelby Selland (14.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Lynsey Prosser (12.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.1 apg), Vishe Rabb (11.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg), and Abby Hora (10.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) this season. Selland is shooting 56.5 percent this season (3^rd in NSIC, 19^th in NCAA DII). The Vikings average 81.2 points (1^st in NSIC) on 43.4 percent shooting (2^nd in NSIC), 17.3 assists (1^st in NSIC, 17^th in NCAA DII), 11.6 steals per game (1^st in NSIC) and 45.4 rebounds (1^st in NSIC, 11^th in NCAA DII). Augustana beat Upper Iowa 86-52 earlier this season in Dorman Gymnasium.   
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS… Wayne State (9-5, 4-4 NSIC) split its last weekend of competition to keep its conference record even. The Wildcats lost to Sioux Falls (81-59) on Friday before edging Southwest Minnesota State (76-74) in the final minute the next day. The lead scorers for the Wildcats are Erin Norling (14.7 ppg), Brittany Bongartz (12.7 ppg) and Halley Busse (12.4 ppg). Andrea Larson pulls down a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game followed by Norling with 6.0 and Bongartz with 5.9 per game. Busse shoots 49.1 percent and leads the team with 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. As a unit, the Wildcats score 70.9 points per game (5^th in NSIC) on 38.4 percent shooting. WSC averages 41.4 rebounds (4^th in NSIC), 16.3 assists (2^nd in NSIC), 9.0 steals (5^th in NSIC), and 4.5 blocks (1^st in NSIC, 26 in NCAA DII). Wayne State withstood a late Peacock comeback to win 68-60 earlier this season, and will face Winona State on Friday evening.
 
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will stay on the road for another pair of NSIC games against Bemidji State University (1/18, 5:30 p.m.), and University of Minnesota Crookston (1/19, 3:30 p.m.).