THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa is headed south to participate at the Subway Classic hosted by Quincy University in Quincy, Ill. The Peacocks will take on the host school on Friday evening at 7 p.m. before challenging the Maryville University Saints on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available all weekend through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.

LAST TIME OUT… Upper Iowa hosted McKendree University for the 2019-20 home opener last week. The Peacocks went into the final 10 minutes with an 8-point led but the Bearcats rallied to outscore the home team 24-11 in the fourth quarter to steal a 61-56 victory in Fayette. In the first half, Upper Iowa won the defensive battle that saw low scoring on both sides as well as 17 of the game's 22 turnovers. The Peacock offense made 34.6 percent of their shots to tally 10 points in the first and 13 in the second, while the UIU defense held the visitors to just 16 points on 17.2 percent shooting from the field. Upper Iowa led 45-37 at the end of 30 minutes thanks to a 7-0 run to end the third. The McKendree defense was then able to shut the Peacock offense down for most of the fourth quarter as the Bearcats held the home team to just two baskets in the first 8:07 while putting up 17 points of their own to take the lead and more. The Peacocks cut the deficit to one score with 23 seconds left, but the Bearcats held on with six made free throws down the stretch.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS… Quincy notched its first victory of the 2019 campaign last Sunday with a 95-64 win over Iowa Wesleyan University. Prior to that game, the Hawks dropped a pair of tight matchups at the Midwest Regional Crossover where they faced Ursuline College (69-67) and University of Wisconsin-Parkside (83-76). The Quincy offense is led by Aleksandra Petrovic (13.3 ppg) and Maddie Spagnola (12.5 ppg) while two other Hawks are averaging double figure scoring as well. Grace Schraufnagel and Ella Gobald are each averaging 4.3 boards per game to lead the defense. As a unit, Quincy is averaging 79.3 points per game thus far while shooting 44.8 percent from the field. The Hawks own a +10.0 rebounding margin over their opponents as well as a +1.7 turnover margin. Quincy was picked to finish 16th in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll. 

SCOUTING THE SAINTS… Maryville is 2-1 thus far with wins over Davenport University (73-56) and Northwest Missouri State University (68-57) around a loss to No. 3 Grand Valley State University (94-50). The Saints are led by Mary Barton who is averaging 19.0 points per game thanks to 41.7 percent shooting from the field. Abby Monis also averages double figure points with 14.0 per game, and contributes 6.7 rebounds per game as well. Taylor Kirby is Maryville's other leading rebounder with 7.0 boards per game. The Saints are averaging 63.7 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting, and were selected sixth in the GLVC preseason poll with one first place vote. 

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa returns home for the final non-conference match of the season against North Central University on Tues., Nov. 26. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Dorman Gymnasium.