THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa opens their 2024-25 campaign on the road against Augustana (SD) on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. The Peacocks will then face Northland College in their home opener on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m for their Youth Day Game where tickets will be free for everyone 18-and under.

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to women's basketball this week. The webcast against Augustana can be found at https://nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/ while Live Stats can be viewed at https://goaugie.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary. In their home game against Northland, the Webcast will be available at https://glvcsn.com/uiu/ with Live Stats being found at https://uiupeacocks.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary. All the links will be included with this story.
 
FLASHBACK TO 2023-24… Head Coach Justin Maass is back for his third season with UIU, where he has posted a career record of 25-31. He led the Peacocks to a 15-13 overall record last season, while going 11-11 in GLVC action. The Peacocks concluded the year with a berth in the GLVC Postseason Tournament, where their season was highlighted by an upset victory over #2-seed McKendree by a score of 79-66 in the quarterfinals. Maass has successfully led the Peacocks to the postseason in both his years at the helm, and he will look to continue that streak with the Peacocks being picked to finish fifth overall in the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE… The Peacocks had a school-record three all-conference selections last season, and they return reigning GLVC Second-Team selection in senior Mia Huberty. Huberty leads all returners with an average of 15.4 points per game on 44.5% shooting from the field while going 34.0% from beyond the arc. She added 4.2 rebounds per game and led the Peacocks an average of 3.4 assists per game, which included a ten-assist performance against both Truman State and McKendree. Huberty recorded a career-high 29 points on 10-22 shooting against UIndy and surpassed the 20-point mark six times during the 2023-24 season.
 
FANTASTIC FORWARDS… Fifth year Kayla Bohr ranks second amongst returners with an average of 9.0 points per game on 45.4% shooting. She scored a career-high 21 points on 10-18 shooting in the Peacocks playoff victory over McKendree, and reached double-figures in 7 of Upper Iowa's final 11 games of the season. Senior Helen Staley is coming off an injury-shortened season where she averaged 6.3 points per game on 47.2% shooting while adding 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. She put together an eight-point, 12-rebound performance in UIU's season opening win over Graceland last year and followed that up by dishing out eight assists with zero turnovers against Oklahoma Christian.
 
SHARP-SHOOTING GUARDS… Junior Amelia Valentino appeared in all 28 games off the bench last season, averaging 4.5 points per game while shooting 36-85 (42.4%) from three-point range. She scored in double figures five times in 2023-24, which includes a career-high 18 points against Illinois Springfield on 6-9 shooting. Sophomore Ava Privet added 3.7 points per game off the bench in 19 appearances, while shooting 21-49 (42.9%) from beyond the arc. She scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting against Missouri S&T and a career-high 12 points on 4-5 three-point shooting against Truman State.
 
NOTABLE NEWCOMERS… Fifth year Lilly Pepper and junior Laney Pilcher join the program, after very successful careers at Illinois College and Iowa Central CC. Pepper spent four seasons at Illinois College, appearing in 63 games with 58 starts. Over her career, she averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.8% from the field. For her efforts, she was named to the Midwest All-Conference First Team in 2021-22. Pilcher spent her freshman year at Iowa Central CC, appearing in 30 games with 28 starts. She recorded a team-high 17.0 points per game on 45-36-86 shooting splits. She recorded 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, and added 2.7 steals per game which is the third most in school history. Pilcher also earned all-conference honors as she was named to the ICCAC All-Region First Team in 2023-24.
 
ANTICIPATING AUGUSTANA… The Vikings are coming off a 7-20 season and they have started their 2024-25 campaign with an 0-2 record. Junior Olivia Hayenga leads all scorers with an average of 14.0 points per game on 38.1% shooting. She scored 19 points against nationally-ranked Fort Hays State and has added four steals and three blocks on the year. Senior Hannah Burg has averaged 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while dishing out a team-high 4.5 assists per game. Sophomore Payton Hardy has scored 9.0 points with 6.0 rebounds per game and junior Paige Grant has added 7.5 points and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds per game.

NEUTRALIZING NORTHLAND… The Jills will open the season Friday against Central College before taking on the Peacocks the following day. Their 2023-24 season saw them post an 0-22 record where they outscored by an average of 49.8 points per game. Northland returns two starters from last season, highlighted by senior Katelyn Altaha. Altaha recorded 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Senior Kodie Rempp scored 6.7 points per game last year, while recording a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS… UIU will be back in action next weekend for a road matchup with Winona State on Friday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. They will then close out their road trip against Roosevelt on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.