THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa will play three games in Dorman Gymnasium within a span of just four days. The Peacocks will first welcome Concordia University, St. Paul to Fayette for a Friday evening NSIC showdown beginning at 5:30 p.m. Upper Iowa will then line up against the Mavericks of Minnesota State University-Mankato on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before closing out the 2019-20 non-conference schedule against North Central University (MN) on Monday at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to dress in white for Friday night's Winter Wonderland Whiteout and wear ugly sweaters for Deck the Halls of Dorman on Saturday afternoon.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Live stats and webcast will be available for all three matchups through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live or the game can be streamed live on the Stretch Internet App for fans with Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple or Android televisions. In addition, Friday and Saturday's games can be broadcast live on KCRG-TV 9.3, and Monday's tilt can be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.2.
 
SCORING THREATS… The duo of Natalie Dinius and Jessica Musgrave combined for nearly half of Upper Iowa's total points this past weekend with 25 points each. Dinius' scoring was fueled by 41.2 percent shooting from downtown which led to seven three-pointers, while Musgrave converted 11-of-28 over the weekend including 8-of-16 against Augustana. The two guards also combined for 16 rebounds, five steals, four assists, and a block.
 
CRASHING THE GLASS… Erica Armstrong has stepped up her rebounding game since the start of conference season, averaging a team-leading 6.3 boards per contest to rank 18^th in the NSIC for just league matches. She matched her season-high twice this past weekend with seven rebounds in each game and chipped in five during UIU's conference-opener against Winona State. Armstrong is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game this season, just slightly behind Musgrave who hauls in 6.0/game.
 
SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics

• Jessica Musgrave – 15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 12 steals, 47.1% FG
• Megan Peterson – 7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 27.8% 3FG
• Natalie Dinius – 6.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 35.7% 3FG
• Bekka Pierson – 4.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6 blocks, 32.6% FG
• Marina Peinado – 3.6 ppg, 2.0 apg, 5 steals, 92.3% FT
• Erica Armstrong – 2.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 42.1% FG

 
SCOUTING CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL… After dropping their NSIC opener 62-57 to No. 11 University of Sioux Falls, the Golden Bears earned their first conference victory of the season with an 82-79 overtime victory over Southwest Minnesota State University, which evened their overall record at 4-4 on the year. Concordia-St. Paul has been well-matched with its opponents this season; the Golden Bears average 68.1 points per game with their foes holding a slim advantage at 69.0 per contest. Sidney Wentland leads the effort with 13.3 points per game with Meghan DuBois (11.6/game), Riley Wheatcraft (11.6/game), and Danielle Schaub (11.4) trailing closely behind. Wentland also leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game and 2.0 blocks per contest, while DuBois dishes out 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals to lead the team in each category. As a squad, Concordia-St. Paul averages 36.1 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 7.9 steals, and 4.3 blocks.
 
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE… The Mavericks (4-2, 1-1 NSIC) also split their NSIC-opening weekend with a 76-60 victory over the Mustangs before falling short to the #11 Cougars, 66-61, on Saturday. Minnesota State's other loss also came by a slim margin of just five points when the Mavericks fell 80-75 to Michigan Technological University on Nov. 18. As a team, MSU is averaging 81.0 points per game to rank first in the Northern Sun while allowing opponents to score 68.2 per contest. The Mavericks also lead the NSIC with 13.67 steals per game to help fuel a +9.33 turnover margin (1^st in NSIC), and are one of the best rebounding units in the league with 43.2 per game (2^nd in NSIC). Junior Tayla Stuttley leads the Mavericks in both scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg), while Kirstin Klitzke averages 10.2 points per game to go with 1.3 steals per contest. Rachel Shumski averages 9.0 points and is the leading rebounder for MSU with 7.2 per game (10^th in NSIC).
 
SCOUTING NORTH CENTRAL… The Cardinals enter the non-conference game with a 3-4 overall record including wins over Mount Mary University (75-50), Waldorf University (65-48), and College of St. Scholastica (79-62). One season ago, the Rams finished 14-11 overall and 8-8 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference to qualify for the conference tournament for the first time in program history. NSU returned four of five players in the starting lineup last year including the trio of Naomi Hagstrom, Allison Bulthuis, and Emily DiGiorio who all are averaging double-figure scoring this season with 14.3, 11.9, and 10.7 points per game, respectively. DiGiorio (7.3 rpg) also leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game, while Alice Cato chips in 5.9 to rank second. North Central is outrebounding opponents 274-264, while averaging 67.8 points per game and allowing opponents to score 72.0 per contest.
 
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will close out the 2019 slate with a 2 p.m. game against Winona State University on Sat., Dec. 21 in Winona, Minn. The Peacocks will then open the New Year at Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead on Jan. 3-4.