THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa will be playing in the GLVC Championship Tournament as they have clinched the #7-seed in the conference. The tourney will be held at the Hyland Arena in St. Charles Mo. and UIU's first game will be against #2 McKendree on Thursday, Mar. 17 at 2:15 p.m. With a victory, the semifinal match will be held on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 2:15 p.m. and the championship will begin Sunday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to women's basketball this week. Webcasts can be found through the GLVC website at
https://glvcsn.com/ and Live Stats can be viewed at
https://glvcsports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary. Both links will be included with this story.
GLVC QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS…
- #1 Lewis Flyers vs. #8 Missouri-St. Louis Tritons (Mar. 7 | 12 p.m.)
- #4 Maryville Saints vs. #5 Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars (Mar. 8 | 12 p.m.)
- #3 Drury Panthers vs. #6 Rockhurst Hawks (Mar. 8 | 2:15 p.m.)
- #2 McKendree Bearcats vs. #7 Upper Iowa Peacocks (Mar 7. | 2:15 p.m.)
ICE IN HER VEINS… Brooke Evenson ended her regular season career on the best possible note as she swished the game winning three-pointer as time expired in the face of a 6'6 defender. Evenson has averaged 13.7 points per game on the year, scoring in double figures in the previous ten games. She scored her career-high 28 points on 11-17 shooting on UIU's Senior Day victory over Illinois-Springfield and she leads the team with 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. For her efforts on both ends of the floor, Evenson was named to the All-GLVC Third Team.
PRODUCTION AT THE POINT… Mia Huberty finished two points shy of her career-high in UIU's season finale, scoring 27 points on 9-13 shooting while adding a career-best nine rebounds. Huberty has averaged 15.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists per game. She has dished out double digit assists twice this season and has scored in double figures in UIU's last eight games. Huberty scored a game-winning fadeaway to propel the Peacocks to victory on the road over UIndy and she has garnered All-GLVC Second Team honors.
HIGH-SCORING SUPERSTAR… Katie Tornstrom has scored a team-high 15.8 points per game on 36.2% three-point shooting. She has recorded 7.1 rebounds per game and is coming off consecutive double-digit rebounding performances. She has scored 20+ points 11 times this season, which includes a career-high 29 points on the road against Illinois Springfield. Tornstrom ranks third in the conference with 2.2 steals per game and was named to the All-GLVC First Team.
ON THE RISE… Kayla Bohr has scored in double figures in six of UIU's last nine games which includes multiple 17-point performances against Indianapolis on 7-10 shooting and Drury on 7-12 shooting. Bohr is averaging 8.7 points per game on 44.0% shooting.
Amelia Valentino is coming off an 11-point performance on 4-8 shooting over SBU while adding two assists. She scored a career high 18 points on Senior Day, with 15 points coming in the fourth quarter.
Alaina Brenning also scored 11-points in the season finale, shooting 5-8 from the floor while adding five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
SEASON HIGHS…
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MEETINGS WITH MCKENDREE… The Peacocks have faced the Bearcats twice this season, posting a 1-1 record in head-to-head matches. Their first meeting came on the road at the start of the calendar year, where they Peacocks won 84-75, ending McKendree's nine-game winning streak. Tornstrom scored a game-high 22 points on 4-8 three-point shooting. She posted a double-double with 11 rebounds with four coming on the offensive end. Evenson also recorded a double-double with 18 points on 6-17 shooting and a game-high 13 rebounds. Huberty put together a near triple-double performance as she scored 16 points while recording eight rebounds and eight assists. The second meeting came in an overtime thriller where McKendree edged out UIU, 99-95. The 95 points by UIU is their season-high and Tornstrom once again led the way with 22 points which included a game-tying three pointer with five seconds remaining. Bohr added 16 points on 6-10 shooting while recording a block and two steals.
Cassidy Pagel scored a season-high 15 points on 7-10 shooting. Evenson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds on 5-9 shooting. Valentino picked up 12 points, shooting 4-5 from beyond the arc. Huberty scored nine points and recorded career-highs with ten assists and four blocks. Brenning added seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and a block.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS… McKendree has gone 20-8 on the year, with a 16-6 record in GLVC action. They are coming off an 84-58 Senior Day victory over UIndy which clinched the #2 seed in the conference tourney. Junior Clare Breden has scored the most points in the GLVC this season with 496, averaging 17.7 per game. She is shooting 47.9% from the floor and 36.2% from beyond the arc. Breden has averaged 3.4 rebounds and she leads the Bearcats with 3.4 assists per game. Senior Naomi McDaniel has averaged 14.1 points per game on the third most efficient shooting percentage in the GLVC at 55.2%. She leads the Bearcats with 8.0 rebounds per game and ranks first in the conference with a 1.8 blocks per game average. Senior Madyson Harper has scored 10.0 points per game on 40.6% three-point shooting. She is averaging 3.2 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals per game.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS… With a victory, the Peacocks will face either #3 Drury or #6 Rockhurst in the Semifinals which will be held on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 2:15 p.m. The link for the
GLVC Postseason Tournament Bracket is included with this story.
