THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa closes out the 2019-20 regular season with a road trip to Minnesota for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games against Minnesota State University-Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul. The Peacocks will first head to Mankato, Minn. for a 5:30 p.m. tilt against the Mavericks on Friday evening. Upper Iowa will then look to complete the season series sweep against the Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and a webcast are available to fans unable to make the trip through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.

LAST TIME THEY MET... Upper Iowa welcomed the Mavericks and Golden Bears to Dorman Gymnasium earlier this season when the Peacocks came just shy of a weekend NSIC sweep with a 65-63 victory over CSP and a 78-71 loss to MSU. Against the Golden Bears, Upper Iowa got into a deep 15-0 hole to start the game but regrouped to outscore the guests 65-48 the rest of the way for the win. The Peacocks' scoring was fueled heavily by 43.5 percent shooting behind the arc led by Bekka Pierson who finished with five triples. UIU carried the momentum from the win into Saturday afternoon against the Mavericks. The Peacocks maintained the advantage for more than half of the contest but saw a 14-point lead swiped away when Minnesota State used an 18-0 run as part of a 31-point fourth quarter to come out on top. Upper Iowa had a quartet of players finish in double figures led by Jessica Musgrave who was one rebound shy of a double-double with 22 points and nine boards.

SEASON STAT LEADERS… Team leader in italics

• Jessica Musgrave – 14.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 25 steals, 41.7 FG%
• Natalie Dinius – 8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 33.3 3FG%
• Megan Peterson – 7.4 ppg, 1.9 apg, 32.3 3FG%
• Brooke Evenson – 6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 34.3 FG%
• Marina Peinado – 2.7 ppg, 3.0 apg, 16 steals, 84.2 FT%

SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE… The Mavericks (14-10, 11-9 NSIC) enter the weekend having won three of their last four contests capped off by a convincing 93-80 win over Wayne State College, which placed MSU in a three-way tie for third place in NSIC South Division standings. Minnesota State ranks second in the league with 76.3 points per game while allowing opponents to average 71.0 per contest. The Mavericks also haul in the second-most rebounds in the conference with 41.6 per game; MSU ranks near the bottom of the league with 26.0 defensive rebounds per game but collects 15.6 rebounds per game on the offensive side of the ball to lead the NSIC. Minnesota State steals the ball 12.5 times per game (1^st in NSIC), fueling the Mavericks to a positive 6.42 turnover margin (2^nd in NSIC). Kristi Fett is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Mavericks with 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Kirstin Klitzke (9.8 ppg, 1.9 apg), Joey Batt (9.3 ppg, 1.5 spg), Tayla Stuttley (9.1 ppg, 2.5 apg) and Rachel Shumski (7.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) are also key contributors for Minnesota State.

SCOUTING CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL… The Golden Bears (13-13, 10-10 NSIC) evened both their conference and overall records with a split against Wayne State (W, 81-80) and Augustana (L, 90-85) last weekend. Concordia-St. Paul has been well-matched with its opponents this season; the Golden Bears average 72.5 points per game (5^th) to hold a slim advantage of their foes who average 71.9 points per contest. CSP averages 7.7 three-pointers per game (3^rd in NSIC) thanks to an NSIC-leading 38.1 percent shooting clip from distance. Riley Wheatcraft leads all scorers with 14.0 points per game, while Danielle Schaub (12.5 ppg) paces the effort downtown with 2.4 triples per game on 44.0 percent shooting behind the arc. Sidney Wentland (12.5 ppg) and Meghan DeBois (10.0 ppg) also average double-digits, while Sydney Schultz chips in 8.5 points and leads the team with 5.0 rebounds per game. DuBois (3.4), Wentland (3.2) and Schaub (3.0) all average three or more assists to rank in the NSIC top-20. As a squad, Concordia-St. Paul averages 36.1 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 7.6 steals, and 4.2 blocks.

UP NEXT… The Peacocks will play their first round NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament game on Wed., Feb. 26 with time and place to be determined at the conclusion of this weekend's games.