THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S HOOPS… Upper Iowa women's basketball sees only one matchup this week. The squad will travel to Winona State University on Tuesday, Nov. 22 as they begin NSIC play. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast for the game will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and included with this story. The contest will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Search for "NSIC Network" to find the app on your relevant device. 
  
NSIC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL…The Northern Sun Conference has released the 2022-23 NSIC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll and the Peacocks are picked eighth in the NSIC South and 15^th overall. Minnesota State University, Mankato was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite; the Mavericks received 216 points, garnering eight first place votes to sit three points ahead of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs had 213 points and seven first place votes. Augustana University was third with 182 points and the other first place vote. 
 
PEACOCK HUE REVIEW…The Peacocks opened their campaign with an impressive 4-1 record, a mark that hasn't been seen in program history since the 1985-86 season. Upper Iowa went 2-1 this past week, defeating Rockhurst 73-62, downing William Jewell 69-58 and coming up short against Truman State in a 97-90 overtime decision. 
 
UIU started off the week as they battled the Eagles. The score was tied 50-50 going into the fourth quarter as Upper Iowa scored an additional 23 points, shooting 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and 2-3 from downtown in that period. They secured their win with an 11 point margin, their largest of the night. The Peacocks shot 27-64 (42.4%) from the floor and 9-17 (52.9%) from long range. Lydia Haack led the way with 17 points, netting 5-6 from the charity stripe. She tallied six assists in the evening. Callista Rochon-Baker continued her sniping streak as she shot 4-5 beyond the arc. She scored 16 points, shooting 5-8 overall. Katie Tornstrom chipped in 13 points, shooting 5-6 from field goal range. Helen Staley hunted the glass as she hauled in 11 boards in the matchup.
 
Against the Cardinals, Upper Iowa grabbed an early lead that they kept for the entire game. After leading 40-29 at halftime, William Jewell battled back to trail by one. Upper Iowa retaliated with an 11-0 run that pushed out their lead and drove them to victory. Katie Tornstrom recorded a season high of 17 points on 7-15 shooting in the matchup. Callista Rochon-Baker added 14 points and shot 5-8 from the field. Junior Lydia Haack eclipsed the 600-point mark on the road this week as she sits at 604 total career points. She tallied eight points in the match along with grabbing seven rebounds.
 
Lastly, the Peacocks rounded off their week against the Bulldogs as they were dealt their first loss of the season. The game was a back and forth matchup that was sent into overtime. The extra period consisted of the Bulldogs capitalizing on their offensive opportunities and the Peacocks struggling to get in a rhythm. Truman State converted in crucial moments, including shooting 9-10 from the charity stripe. The dynamic duo of Katie Tornstrom and Lydia Haack combined for a total of 58 points in the contest. Haack recorded 28 points going 12-17 (70.6%) from the floor. She also chipped in eight rebounds and eight assists. Tornstrom tallied a career high 26 points, going 5-11 behind the arc and 8-19 (42.1%) from field goal range. 
 
THREE-POINT THREAT… Junior Callista Rochon-Baker notched her way on the DII national leaderboard as she is shooting an outstanding 75% from behind the arc. She has knocked down 12-16 three pointers so far this season. She trails Jessica Wisotzki of Simon Fraser who is shooting 100% (5-5) and Ryan Weise of East Stroudsburg who is shooting 80% (20-25).
 
NSIC STANDOUTS… Upper Iowa has made their mark on several of the conference leaderboards. As a team, UIU is leading the NSIC in three-point percentage after converting 39-94 (41.5%). Augustana is behind them after hitting 28-72 (38.9%). Individually, Lydia Haack is second in points per game with 21.2. She follows behind Aislinn Duffy of Augustana who has recorded 27.5 points per game. Haack is also at the top of the list for minutes played, as she has seen a perfect 40 minutes per game in each contest, totaling 200 minutes. 
 
SCOUTING WINONA… Prior to the season starting, Winona State was picked 5th in the NSIC South Preseason Coaches' Poll. They have gotten off to a hot start after opening their 2022-23 campaign with a flawless 5-0 record. Most recently, the Warriors defeated McKendree (64-50) and Quincy (65-62). Winona's Alex Dornfeld recorded a double-double against McKendree as she tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds. Versus Quincy, she grabbed another double-double as she scored 24 points and hauled in 12 rebounds. As a team, WSU has averaged 64.5 points and has only given up 56 to their opponents, 20 points less than what Upper Iowa is currently averaging, as the Peacocks are recording an average of 78.4 point per game. 
 
DOWN THE STRETCH… The Peacocks take a break from competition for over a week during the holiday festivities. They return to play on Dec. 1 as they host Concordia St. Paul in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the Golden Bears. On Dec. 3, UIU heads to Mankato, Minn. for a duel with Minnesota State University Mankato at 2 p.m.