SATURDAY IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa hits the road for the final contest of the calendar year against Winona State University in Winona, Minn. The two teams will meet for the second time this season after the Warriors pulled away in the final minutes to claim a 75-61 decision in the 2019-20 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and live options are available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
FLYING HIGH… The Peacocks have won two of their last three contests including a clutch NSIC victory over Concordia University, St. Paul that ended Upper Iowa winless streak against conference foes and a win over North Central University to close out the non-conference slate. UIU's loss during the stretch was to Minnesota State University, Mankato in a contest where the Peacocks led for over half the game but saw the victory swiped from beneath them after the Mavericks rallied with a huge fourth quarter. Upper Iowa averaged nearly five more points than its opponents with a 74.3 to 69.7 advantage, and out-rebounded its guests 118-115. The Peacocks shot 43.6 percent from the floor, 40.6 percent from downtown, and 68.5 percent at the line, while holding their opponents to 37.9, 31.6 and 69.3 percent shooting clips.
HOLY TOLEDO!… Jessica Musgrave is continuing to shine during her freshman campaign with 16.0 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per contest to rank 7th and 15th, respectively, in the conference. In the last three contests, the Toledo, Iowa product averaged 7.0 rebounds and 18.7 points fueled by back-to-back 20+ point performances. Musgrave shot 51.2 percent from the floor (21-of-41), 86.7 percent at the line (13-of-15), and made her lone three-point attempt during the stretch.
NSIC TOP PERFORMER… Megan Peterson earned NSIC South Top Performer recognition on Monday morning following her strong performance over the weekend that led UIU to a conference split. She averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists during the contests, while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor (10-of-24), 50.0 percent from deep (5-of-10), and 50.0 percent at the line (2-of-4). Peterson continued her big impact on Monday evening with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 behind the arc to go with career-high rebounds (5) and assists (5).
SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics
- Jessica Musgrave – 16.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 14 steals, 48.3% FG
- Megan Peterson – 9.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 34.0% 3FG
- Natalie Dinius – 7.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 33.3 % 3FG
- Bekka Pierson – 6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 7 blocks, 38.2% FG
- Brooke Evenson – 4.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 8 steals, 6 blocks, 28.3% FG
- Marina Peinado – 3.3 ppg, 2.4 apg, 6 steals, 92.3% FT
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS… Winona State enters the game on a two-game skid after starting the season with a perfect 7-0 record. The Warriors made late charges in both games last weekend, but couldn't complete their comebacks as they fell by a combined 19 points against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. WSU ranks third in the conference with 76.8 points per game and has seen a lot of production from behind the three-point line this year; the Warriors are averaging the second-most three-pointers in the NSIC with 8.6 per game thanks to a 35.3 shooting clip (5th in NSIC). The scoring is led by Allie Pickrain (12.1 ppg) along with four other Warriors who average double figures. On the glass, Winona State averages 39.9 rebounds as a unit (6th in NSIC) led by Taylor Hustad who ranks first in the league with 9.4 per game.
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will return to action in 2020 with a road trip to Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead on Jan. 3-4.
