FAYETTE, Iowa - UIU women's basketball (7-4, 3-0 GLVC) starts the new year with St. Louis GLVC action against Maryville (Mo.) (9-3, 3-1 GLVC) and Missouri-St. Louis (8-2, 4-0 GLVC).
The Peacocks face the Saints at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, at Moloney Arena. Upper Iowa then plays the Tritons on Sunday, Jan 4, at 1 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend in St. Louis can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks went 1-1 before the holiday break with a 64-56 win over Roosevelt (Ill.) (1-8) and a 65-62 loss in the final seconds to Lake Superior State (Mich.) (3-7). Graduate Ellie Foster averaged a team-high 15 points between the two games.
Upper Iowa used a 20-8 second quarter to help get the win over Roosevelt. Foster scored 10 of her 18 points in that period, and Upper Iowa was able to maintain the lead to get its sixth-straight victory. That tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history.
With UIU leading 62-59 in the final minute, Lake Superior State's Grace Bradford hit back-to-back buckets for the 63-62 lead. The Peacocks couldn't convert on their chances to retake the lead and tie to fall by three points.
Kendyl Lodermeier scored 12 points in each game. Lindsey Davis had a season-high 15 points against Lake Superior while averaging five rebounds. Ava Privet averaged 9.5 points, and Sydnee Nelson averaged 7.5 points in the two games.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Foster leads the Peacocks averaging 13.1 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game and 1.2 steals per game. She's shooting 39.8% from the field, 35.6% on 3-pointers and leads the team in steals per game. Foster ranks 14th in the GLVC in scoring.
Privet is averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She leads the GLVC in 3-point percentage at 46.3%, which also ranks ninth nationally. Privet also leads the GLVC in 3-pointers made with 31 total, ranking 17th in the nation.
Lodermeier averages 10 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.9% from the field. She ranks fourth in the GLVC in field goal percentage. Bryar Duwe is scoring 9.1 points per game while leading the team with 5.6 rebounds per game. She's also averaging 3.1 assists per game and leads the GLVC with a 1.79 assist/turnover ratio.
In her three appearances, Davis is averaging 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Nelson is scoring 7.9 points per game while leading the team with 3.6 assists per game. The junior guard ranks second in the GLVC in assists per game.
As a team, the Peacocks are averaging 67.3 points per game while giving up 66.2 points per game. Those marks rank seventh and eighth in the GLVC, respectively. The Peacocks are tied for the conference lead in assists with Truman State (Mo.) at 14.73 per game. UIU is shooting 42.2% on field goals and 34.8% from behind the arc, ranking fourth and third in the GLVC, respectively.
AROUND THE GLVC
The Peacocks face the top two teams in the GLVC in overall win percentage this weekend in UMSL (.800) and Maryville (.750). Missouri-St. Louis is the only 4-0 team in GLVC play, while Upper Iowa and Drury (Mo.) (6-4, 3-0 GLVC) are both undefeated as well.
Maryville is the lone 3-1 team while Truman State (5-6, 2-1 GLVC) and McKendree (Ill.) (5-4, 2-1 GLVC) each have one loss. Lincoln (Mo.) is 2-2 in conference play.
ABOUT THE SAINTS - Friday at 3 p.m.
Maryville enters the new year after splitting its last two games of 2025 with a 62-50 loss to Fort Lewis (Colo.) (9-3) and a 71-60 win over Adams State (Colo.) (10-4) in Tyler, Texas. The team's two other losses came to Missouri-St. Louis, 61-53, and Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) (7-5), 81-69.
The Saints had a preseason highlight win with an exhibition victory over Division I Missouri (12-3). Maryville's three GLVC wins are against McKendree, Indianapolis and Illinois Springfield.
Sophomore guard Lindsey Schadewalt is leading the Saints averaging 13.3 points per game with a season-high 25 vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith. Senior guard Madyson Rigon is averaging 9.5 points per game and three rebounds per game. Junior forward Alicia Burgos leads the team in rebounds per game with 5.1, while sophomore guard Gracie Gopalan leads the team in assists per game with 3.2.
Maryville boasts the second-best defensive scoring average in the GLVC, allowing 54.4 points per game. The Saints are scoring 65.4 points per game, ranking ninth. Maryville has the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the GLVC at 0.93.
Head coach Brita Hand has a 42-27 record in her third year with Maryville. She has an overall record of 77-51 as a head coach, previously serving at Briar Cliff in Sioux City.
ABOUT THE TRITONS - Sunday at 1 p.m.
Missouri-St. Louis also split its last two games of 2024 with a 68-62 loss to Michigan Tech (8-2) and a comeback 59-57 victory over Central Missouri (8-4). Mara Rieder and Jayden Kuper each scored 20 points in the win over the Jennies.
Rieder leads the GLVC in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. That mark also ranks 19th in the nation. The junior forward ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game, averaging 9.6. She has five double-doubles and scored a season-high 28 points in the opener vs. Wisconsin-Parkside (5-5).
Kuper averages 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. The freshman's 20 points vs. Central Missouri were her season-high, and she's scored double digits in eight out of 10 games this year.
Senior guard Morgan Ramthun is averaging 10 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Anna Costa Riera leads the Tritons in assists with 4.6 per game. The senior from Spain leads the GLVC in assists per game.
UMSL ranks first in the GLVC in defensive scoring, allowing 53.8 points per game. The Tritons are scoring 64.4 points per game, ranking 11th in the GLVC. UMSL leads the league in free-throw percentage (81.1%) and in combined opponent rebounds (28.6 allowed per game).
Head coach Katie Vaughn is in her 14th season with the Tritons. She has a 210-154 record at Missouri-St. Louis.
