THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK HOOPS… Upper Iowa is back on the road this weekend for two more matchups as they continue to navigate the teams of the NSIC North. They face the two top teams in the division, starting with the first place team. The Peacocks challenge Minnesota Duluth (13-2, 10-0 NSIC) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. They face St. Cloud State (10-4, 7-3 NSIC) the following day at 3:30 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast for the games will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and included with this story for those unable to make it to Duluth and St. Cloud. The games 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.
PEACOCK HUE REVIEW… The Peacocks started off last weekend against Bemidji State. They defeated the Beavers 82-69 for their second conference win of the season and their second victory in a row. Upper Iowa shot an impressive 50% from the floor in the contest, netting 31-61 attempts, including 7-15 from long distance. In comparison, Bemidji State went 27-68 (39.7%) from field goal range and 3-17 from downtown.
Lexie Lodermeier and
Mia Huberty led the team in scoring with 15 points each.
Lydia Haack followed right behind with 14 points, while adding ten rebounds and dishing out six assists.
Upper Iowa battled Minnesota Crookston in their second matchup of the weekend, but came up short in an 82-78 final. UIU concluded the first two periods shooting 50% from downtown (6-12) and 42% (14-33) from the field. The Peacocks were down by two going into the fourth quarter, but could not combat the 7-1 scoring run the Golden Eagles opened with in the final ten-minute segment.
Lydia Haack led Upper Iowa with 25 points, shooting 4-6 beyond the arc. Evenson added 19 points and
Mia Huberty contributed 13.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS… Upper Iowa's
Lydia Haack earned this week's Northern Sun Conference South Division Player of the Week honors after leading the Peacocks to a weekend split, averaging 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. This is Haack's second time receiving the award this season (11/14/22) and the seventh time an Upper Iowa athlete has collected this honor. Women's Basketball's
Katie Tornstrom earned the award last week after leading UIU to their first NSIC win over Winona State with a career-high 30 points. The junior is fifth in the conference in scoring with 16.7 points per game. She is also notched in third place on the NSIC leaderboard for assists per game with 4.2. Haack is shooting 49.5% (95-207) from the field and 37% from beyond the arc.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS… Minnesota Duluth is at the helm of the NSIC standings. They hold a flawless 10-0 conference record and an overall mark of 13-2 for the 2022-23 season. The Bulldogs were ranked 14th place nationally in the most recent SIDA D2 poll. Their scheme is on the defensive side of the ball as they only average 66.3 points per game offensively (7th in the NSIC), but they hold their opponents to 55.7 points per contest (1st in the NSIC). In their most recent matchup, they defeated Minnesota State 78-75. UMD is highlighted by graduate senior Brooke Olson. She leads the NSIC in points per game with 18.5 (32nd in the country). She was recently chosen as the NSIC Player of the Week. Olson was also named the Player of the Week in Division II College Basketball by the Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA) on Tuesday.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES… St. Cloud State is tied for third place in the overall NSIC race and currently notched in second place in the NSIC North. They come into the weekend with a 7-3 conference mark and a 10-4 overall record. Most recently, The Huskies dropped to (No.5) Minnesota State 86-61 and defeated Concordia-St. Paul 69-49. They are led in scoring by Katrina Theis with 15.2 points per game and Jada Eggebrecht with 14.2 points per contest.
DOWN THE STRETCH... Coming up, the Peacocks continue their road schedule as they travel to North Dakota for another weekend of basketball action. First up is the University of Mary on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. They head to Minot State on Saturday, Jan. 21 to round off the weekend of play. Tip off with the Beavers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
