THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa is finally back in action as the Peacocks travel to Illinois to face McKendree on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. UIU will then return home to host Lewis on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 1 p.m.
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.
SUPERB START TO THE SEASON… The Peacocks have started the year 5-3 which is their best start to a season in over 15 years. Upper Iowa is looking to add to their three-game win streak which saw them overcome a 16-point deficit as well as win their final non-conference game by 60 points. Fifth-year
Katie Tornstrom has scored 20+ points in half of UIU's games, and she leads the team with 16.6 points per game. Tornstrom has made 23 threes' while shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc and has averaged 2.0 steals per game which ranks fourth in the GLVC. Junior
Mia Huberty scored her career high 29 points against Indianapolis and has averaged 14.4 points per game. She leads all Peacocks with 24 assists and put together a 14-point, 10-assist performance against Truman State. Fifth-year
Brooke Evenson is coming off her season-high 18-points against Crown College despite only playing 18 minutes. Evenson has averaged 12.1 points per game on very efficient shooting splits (47.9% FG% and 37.5% 3PT%) and has averaged a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. She has been just as great on the defensive end averaging 1.4 steals per game and the fourth most blocks per game in the GLVC with 1.1. Junior
Helen Staley has averaged 6.3 points per game on 47.2% shooting, while recording 6.5 rebounds per game. Staley has recorded 23 assists with only 10 turnovers, giving her the best assist to turnover ratio in the GLVC. Other notable Peacock performance include:
- Senior Kayla Bohr: 15 points on 7-11 shooting vs. Truman State
- Senior Alaina Brenning: eight points and eight assists with zero turnovers vs. Graceland
- Senior Cassidy Pagel: four points and ten rebounds vs. Crown
- Sophomore Amelia Valentino: 12 points on 4-6 three-point shooting vs. Truman State
- Freshman Ava Privet: 12 points on 4-5 three-point shooting vs. Truman State
- Freshman Sydnee Nelson: six points and seven assists on 3-3 shooting vs. Crown
- Senior Bailey Winter: 18 points on 5-7 three-point shooting vs. Crown
- Freshman Kenzie Deaton: four points and five rebounds vs. Crown
SEASON HIGHS…
MAGNIFICENT MCKENDREE… The Bearcats have started the season 10-2 and are on a nine-game win streak. McKendree is undefeated in the conference with a 6-0 record after finishing sixth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Junior Clare Breden leads all scorers with 17.1 points per game and she excels at drawing fouls as she has shot 64-79 from the free throw line (81.0%). Breden has averaged 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and also leads the team with 18 steals. Senior Naomi McDaniel has dominated the paint averaging 14.9 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. McDaniel has shot 55.5% from the floor and has recorded 13 steals and 13 blocks in 12 games. Senior Christy Fortune has been the team's best shooter, making 41.2% of her three pointers and all 13 of her free throw attempts. Fortune has averaged 9.9 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game. Senior Maclayne Taylor is the final Bearcat to start all 12 games and she has averaged 5.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
FANTASTIC FLYERS… Lewis was picked to win the GLVC in the Preseason Coaches' Poll and they are currently 6-5 but have gone 5-0 in GLVC play. Lewis is very good on the defensive end as they have four players averaging at least one steal per game. Fifth-year Grace Hilber leads all scorers with 17.0 points per game and has made 27-72 three-pointers (37.5%). Hilber has added 4.2 rebounds while averaging 1.0 steals per game. Senior Kathryn Schmidt has averaged 13.3 points per game and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game. Schmidt is shooting 80.0% from the free throw line and has recorded 11 steals in the nine games she's played in. Senior Taylor Gugliuzza has averaged 11.4 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the field. Gugliuzza ranks second on the team in both rebounds with 6.8 per game as well assists with 2.5 per game. She has also been the Flyers best defensive player as she leads the team with 16 steals and 7 blocks. Lewis' go-to playmaker is junior Jenna Badali who is averaging 11.0 points per game and 4.7 assists per game. She ranks second on the team with 15 steals and has added 4.7 rebounds per game.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS… Upper Iowa will be on the road for back-to-back games against Illinois-Springfield and Quincy. The Peacocks face UIS on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. before taking on Quincy on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.
