THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa will play its first road conference matches of the season against a pair of fellow NSIC South foes. The Peacocks will first challenge the Wildcats of Wayne State College on Friday night before heading to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a 3:30 p.m. game against Augustana University on Saturday.

LIVE OPTIONS… Live stats and webcast will be available for both matchup 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.

SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics

• Jessica Musgrave – 15.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 8 steals, 50.0% FG
• Megan Peterson – 7.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 27.6% 3FG
• Brooke Evenson – 5.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4 blocks, 25.0% FG
• Bekka Pierson – 3.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6 blocks, 31.0% FG
• Marina Peinado – 3.5 ppg, 2.2 apg, 4 steals, 90.0% FT

LOOKING FOR A FULL 40 MINUTES… The Peacocks have been playing well through the first three quarters this season, but have struggled to stick with their opponents in the final 10 minutes of the game. Upper Iowa is averaging a 4.2 point deficit (44.2-40.0) after three frames, including just a one point margin at the half (27.5-26.5), but the trouble has come in the final leg where opponents have outscored UIU by an average of over 10 points (20.7-10.5).  

SCOUTING WAYNE STATE… The Wildcats are off to a 5-1 start this season with their most recent victory coming against Augustana last Saturday in NSIC action. Wayne State's only loss this season was decided by just four points against University of Nebraska-Kearney (83-79). The Wildcats are averaging 78.0 points per game compared to their opponents' 67.3 in addition to +4.0 rebounding and +1.0 turnover margins over their foes. WSC is led by Erin Norling who averages 21.5 points per game (1^st in NSIC) and 7.3 rebounds per game (7^th in NSIC). In addition, Kylie Hammer (13.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.2 apg), Brittany Bongartz (12.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 12 blocks), Halley Busse (11.8 ppg, 3.0 apg) and Josey Ryan (8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 13 steals) have all made large contributions for Wayne State thus far.

SCOUTING AUGUSTANA… The Vikings started their season with a perfect 5-0 record but suffered their first loss of the season last weekend against Wayne State on the road. Prior to the loss, Augustana was outscoring their opponents by an average of almost 25 points thanks to 81.2 points per game. The Vikings average 43.4 rebounds per game to rank second in the NSIC, but also allow their opponents to bring down the second-most rebounds in the conference (41.0/game). Abby Hora is AU's lead scorer with 15.0 points per game, while Lauren Sees (13.0/game) and Vishe' Rabb (12.8/game) also contribute double-digits in the scoring column. Hana Metoxen and Camryn Hay average 6.2 and 4.8 rebounds per game, respectively, to lead the team, while Metoxen also dishes out a team-high 2.0 assists per game.

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa is set to play three home games in the span of just four days. The Peacocks will first welcome the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul to Dorman Gymnasium on Fri., Dec. 13 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The team will then take on Minnesota State University-Mankato on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Finally, Upper Iowa will host North Central University on Monday evening for the final non-conference match of the season at 6 p.m.