THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS…Upper Iowa embarks on another road trip for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division contests. The Peacocks are traveling to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on No. 11 University of Sioux Falls on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. and Marshall, Minn. to face Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars sit atop the NSIC South standings and are just one game behind University of Minnesota Duluth overall, while the Mustangs rank one spot above UIU in the division and 12th overall. This weekend's meetings are the first of two this season as the Peacocks will welcome the Cougars and Mustangs to Dorman Gymnasium later this season. Live options are available for both games through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
LAST WEEKEND IN FAYETTE… Upper Iowa was two points shy of a weekend sweep in Dorman Gymnasium as the Peacocks dropped a heartbreaking 74-72 overtime decision to Bemidji State University on Friday night prior to a convincing 82-67 win over University of Minnesota Crookston. Against the Beavers, the Peacocks fell behind by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter but managed to rally all the way back with a 17-5 run to tie the game at 66-all and force extra minutes. BSU opened overtime with four straight before Upper Iowa captured its first lead since the opening quarter with a 5-0 spurt to set the score at 71-70. The game was then tied at 72 before the Beavers scored the game-winning basket with just half a second to play to seal the win. The Peacocks knocked down 12 triples during the contest thanks to a season-high 46.2 shooting efficiency from outside but struggled to contain the Beavers inside as BSU shot 56.1 percent within the arc and outscored the home team 44-22 in the paint. On Saturday, the Peacocks used efficient shooting and a strong effort on the glass to control the game and post UIU's largest margin of victory against an NSIC opponent since the 2014-15 season. Upper Iowa saw its second-best shooting performance of the season and best outing against a conference foe with a 46.4 percent shooting clip from the floor. The Peacocks also hauled in the program's highest rebounding total in almost 11 years en route to a +25 rebounding margin (53-28).
DOMINANT DINIUS… Natalie Dinius claimed a spot on this week's NSIC Top Performers list after playing a dominant role in UIU's successful weekend in Fayette. The junior surpassed her previous career-high by nearly a dozen scores on Friday night with 29 points fueled by 6-of-8 shooting from distance. Dinius then followed that performance with 19 points on Saturday for a weekend total of 48 points, a team-high. She shot 53.5 percent from the floor (16-30), 50.0 percent behind the arc (8-16) and 88.9 percent at the line (8-9) over the weekend, while adding eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Dinius leads the team with 35 3-pointers this season and ranks second on the team with 9.6 points per game.
MIGHTY MUSGRAVE… Jessica Musgrave also played a vital role for the Peacocks, averaging a double-double of 21.0 points and 11.0 rebounds over the weekend. The freshman guard notched her first career double-double on Friday night with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and then led the team in scoring with 25 points to go with nine rebounds on Saturday. Musgrave's 25 points against UMC tied her career-high and marked her 13th game this season in double figures and fourth with at least 20 points. She is averaging 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a freshman to lead the team in both categories and rank 10th and 15th, respectively, in the Northern Sun.
SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics…
- Jessica Musgrave – 14.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 18 steals, 44.4% FG
- Natalie Dinius - 9.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 35.0% 3FG
- Megan Peterson - 8.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 35.8% 3FG
- Bekka Pierson - 5.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 8 blocks, 38.2% FG
- Brooke Evenson – 5.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 12 steals, 8 blocks, 31.7% FG
- Marina Peinado - 2.3 ppg, 2.8 apg, 11 steals, 92.3% FT
SCOUTING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls (17-2, 10-2 NSIC) moved up three spots in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll to No. 11 after pushing its win streak to eight games with a weekend sweep of University of Mary (80-62) and Minot State University (87-53). USF ranks second in the conference for scoring offense with 77.7 points per game, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor (7th in NSIC), 38.3 percent from long range (1st in NSIC), and 76.7 at the stripe (2nd in NSIC). The Cougars' offense is led by Kaely Hummel who averages 17.9 points per game (3rd in NSIC). Her scoring is fueled heavily by her league-leading 54 three-pointers (2.8/game) scored on 43.5 percent shooting from outside. On the glass, Sioux Falls allows opponents to bring down 38.5 rebounds per game while averaging 37.0 of their own led by Jacey Hunker with 9.1 per game (2nd in NSIC). Other leaders for Sioux Falls include Mariah Szymanski (11.5 points, 3.3 assists, 25 steals) and Anna Goodhope (10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 12 blocks).
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS… Southwest Minnesota State (9-8, 4-8 NSIC) is currently on a three-game winning streak after picking up the team's first conference sweep of the season in last week's action. The Mustangs topped Minot State 85-61 on Friday evening before ending a 14-game winless drought in overtime games with a 91-85 victory over UMary on Saturday. As a team, SMSU is averaging 70.2 points per game (8th in NSIC) compared to opponents' 67.6. Meleah Reinhart leads the way with 15.8 points per contest (6th in NSIC) and is shooting 40.3 percent from the field. Jenna Borchers (13.3) and Sadie Stelter (10.9) also average double-figure scoring and have combined for over half of the team's 3-pointers with 39 and 35, respectively. The Mustangs hold a slim edge in rebounding with a 39.5 to 39.2 advantage, and are paced by Abuk Akoi who hauls in 8.1 per game to rank fourth in the conference. Akoi also leads the team with 42 blocks, averaging an NSIC-leading 2.5 per game.
UP NEXT… The Peacocks have just eight games remaining in the regular season before final seedings are determined for the NSIC Tournament beginning on Feb. 26. Upper Iowa will play four games at home and four games on the road during the stretch with the first games being in Fayette against St. Cloud State University and University of Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, respectively.
