THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… The Upper Iowa University women's basketball team returns home to Fayette, Iowa this weekend after a tough road trip against the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs. The Peacocks dropped both ends of their back-to-back games against the Mustangs, falling to a 1-5 overall record and remaining winless in NSIC action at 0-4. The Wayne State College Wildcats come to Dorman Memorial Gymnasium following a weekend split on the road against conference foe Minnesota State. The Wildcats are bringing an overall record of 2-4 (1-3 NSIC) but are currently 2-2 on the season as the away team.  

ATTENDANCE POLICY & LIVE OPTIONS… Fan attendance at the games this weekend is limited to invite only. Don't worry if you don't get the invite though... we've got you covered with several live options. Live stats and a webcast will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The games will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Locally, Friday's game will be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.3, while Saturday's action can be found on KCRG-TV 9.2. 

BATTLE FOR THE NSIC SCORING THRONE… Freshman guard Lydia Haack continues to impress whether the Peacocks win or lose this season. Haack continued to shoot well from the charity stripe over the weekend, hitting 6 of 7 attempts overall. Her season totals of 34 makes on 37 attempts both rank second in the NSIC, and her 91.9% clip from the free throw line ranks fifth. Though she technically had a down weekend by her lofty scoring standards, she was still able to lead both teams in total scoring with 28 points over the course of the double-header. Haack currently ranks second in the NSIC in scoring with 98 points over six games, only two behind Senior Erin Norling of Wayne State. Her average of 16.3 points per game is currently fifth in the conference and second among players who have played six games, sitting behind only Norling there as well. The way that the Peacocks as a whole matchup against the Wildcats is what will determine which team is victorious, but it will be worth watching the scoring battle between UIU's fantastic freshman and WSC's superb senior.  

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS… The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the 2020-21 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last year's team finished with a record of 16-13 overall and was tied for sixth place in the NSIC South Division at 11-11 even after losing their final six contests of the year. Senior forward Erin Norling was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year in the NSIC South and has been selected to the All-NSIC First team in each of the last two seasons. She ranked second in the NSIC in scoring last year at 19.9 points per game and reached double figures in scoring in every game while recording 15 games of 20 or more points. Norling, who is averaging a team-high 16.7 points and 7 rebounds per game this year, is one of last season's top seven returning scorers for the Wildcats. Senior guard Halley Busse, a member of last season's All-NSIC second team, is averaging 12.3 points and a team-leading 1.5 steals per game, and she is tied with Norling at 3.16 assists per game. Juniors Kylie Hammer and Autumn Mlinar are scoring 10.3 points apiece for WSC, while senior center Brittany Bongartz adds 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest.