THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa will look to add to their win total as they participate in the Newman Classic this weekend. UIU faces Oklahoma Christian on Friday, Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m. and will face either Newman or East Central the following day at a time that's yet to be determined.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to women's basketball this week. Webcasts for every game can be found through the GLVC website at
https://glvcsn.com/uiu/. Live Stats and the webcast can be found at
https://uiupeacocks.com/coverage. Both links will be included with this story.
GLIDING OVER GRACELAND… The Peacocks are coming off their biggest victory since 2021, as they defeated the Graceland Yellowjackets 89-54. Graduate
Katie Tornstrom led the scoring effort with 22 points in only 22 minutes, shooting 8-17 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. Junior
Mia Huberty played a team-high 31 minutes, scoring 18 points on 8-17 shooting, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. Graduate
Brooke Evenson scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting from the field while going 2-3 from the three-point line. Junior
Helen Staley dominated the glass, bringing in 12 rebounds while adding eight points on 4-6 shooting. Senior
Alaina Brenning carried the playmaking duties, dishing out eight assists while not recording a single turnover. She added eight points of her own on 1-5 shooting while going 6-7 from the free throw line. Senior
Kayla Bohr recorded three points and six rebounds in her first ever game with Upper Iowa, tying for a team-high three offensive boards. Senior
Cassidy Pagel scored seven points on 3-5 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and freshman
Ava Privet shot 2-2 from three-point range finishing with six points.
EAGERLY AWAITING THE EAGLES… Oklahoma Christian is coming off an 8-18 season, where they ended the year on a three-game win streak. All four of their leading scorers are back from last season, highlighted by senior Brooklin Bain who averaged 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on 41.1% shooting from the field. Junior Kate Bradley averaged 9.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, shooting 36.7% from three-point range. Junior Nakia Cullom was primarily in the sixth man role last season, coming off the bench in 14 of the 25 games she appeared in. Cullom averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while making 77.4% of her free throws. Rounding out the returning leading scorers in junior Daijah Toms, who averaged 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 46.6% from the field.
WHO'S UP NEXT?... Following their matchup with Oklahoma Christian, the Peacocks will face the team who has the same win/loss result as them in the Newman Jets vs. East Central Tigers game. Newman is coming off a 10-18 season and have started their 2023-24 campaign with an 0-2 mark while East Central is went 11-16 last year and has not played any games this season. Leading the way for the Jets are senior Amiya Josey and sophomore Valeriya Lioukina. Josey has made an impact on both ends of the floor averaging 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. Lioukina has averaged a double-double scoring ten points and recording ten rebounds in both games this season. The Tigers are led by senior Mackenzie Crusoe who has averaged double digit points per game in all three seasons of her collegiate career. Crusoe averaged 13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 43.2% from the field and 34.5% from the three-point line. Joining her in the backcourt is junior Kennedy Cummings. Cummings averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 74.2% from the free-throw line.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS… Upper Iowa will begin conference play shortly after Thanksgiving. The Peacocks face Indianapolis at home on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. before traveling to St. Louis to face UMSL on Monday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
