THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa returns home to take on the top two teams in current Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division standings. The Peacocks will first welcome the Bulldogs of University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday night for Educator Appreciation Night and a Super Hero-themed night in Dorman Gym. UIU will then host a Mardi Gras theme day and Youth Day on Saturday afternoon when the St. Cloud State University Huskies come to town. Friday night's tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's contest will begin at 3:30 p.m.

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's game can be broadcast live on KCRG-TV 9.3, and Saturday's tilt can be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.2.

TRENDING UPWARDS… Although Upper Iowa has struggled to take care of the ball as a team, two Peacocks have registered positive assist-to-turnover ratios this season; Lexie Lodermeier leads the team with a 1.38 ratio and Marina Peinado trails close behind with a 1.23 mark. Peinado has been sharper with her passing in the last 10 games, registering a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio highlighted by a span of five games where the junior dished out 14 assists to just three turnovers.

SCORING LEADERS… Upper Iowa's offense is led by freshman Jessica Musgrave (279 points) and junior Natalie Dinius (177 points) who have together combined for over 40.0 percent of the team's scoring. Musgrave has registered double-digits in all but five games this season and has recorded four games with 20 or more points including two 25-point outings. Dinius has posted nine games in double figures including a career-high 29-point performance against Bemidji State University on Jan. 17, Upper Iowa's largest scoring total in a single game since the 2016-17 season.

REBOUNDING LEADERS… Musgrave also leads UIU's rebounding efforts on the season with 121 total boards highlighted by 13 rebounds against Bemidji State, a personal-best and the Peacocks largest individual game total this year. Brooke Evenson has also surpassed the century mark in rebounds this season with 101, while Erica Armstrong (70) and Bekka Pierson (63) round out Upper Iowa's top-four.

SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE… The Huskies (14-4, 11-3 NSIC) have won 11 of their last 12 contests and are on an eight-game winning streak coming into the weekend. St. Cloud State ranks ninth in the conference for points scored (69.9 ppg) but allows the second fewest points in the league (60.3) for a +9.7 scoring margin. Similarly, the Huskies average 36.4 rebounds per game (11^th in NSIC) to rank in the bottom half of standings but have the best rebounding defense in the NSIC, restricting opponents to just 31.1 per game. SCSU has a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging double figure scoring led by Madelin Dammann (12.9) and Tori Wortz (12.6). Nikki Kilboten ranks third with 11.8 points per game and leads the team's rebounding (7.4) and blocking (1.7) efforts, while Katrina Theis chips in 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. Brehna Evans rounds out the Huskies' top-scorers with 10.9 points and also leads the squad in assists per game (3.4) and steals per game (1.9). Offensively, the Huskies shoot 44.5 percent from the floor (2^nd in NSIC), 36.7 percent from distance (3^rd in NSIC, 23^rd in NCAA DII), and 71.1 percent at the line (11^th in NSIC).

SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH… The Bulldogs (15-5, 12-2 NSIC) sit atop the conference standings with just two blemishes in their last 17 games. Like the Huskies, Minnesota Duluth uses tough defense and efficient scoring to its advantage; UMD ranks 11^th in scoring offense (67.0) but has the third-best scoring defense (60.7) and team field goal percentage (44.0). On the glass, the Bulldogs rank last in the conference with 34.0 boards per game and seventh in rebounding defense, allowing foes to haul in 36.8 rebounds on average. Brooke Olson leads Minnesota Duluth in both scoring and rebounding thanks to 15.7 points (5^th in NSIC) and 6.5 rebounds (14^th in NSIC) per contest. Sarah Grow (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg), Ann Simonet (9.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.7 spg), Katie Stark (9.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, .9 bpg), and Maesyn Thiesen (8.4 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.4 spg) also play important roles for the Bulldogs.

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa has six more games in the 2019-20 regular season. The Peacocks will hit the road to face University of Mary and Minot State University on Feb. 7-8.