THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa will conclude the regular season at home against the nationally ranked Lewis Flyers on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 1 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to women's basketball this week. The Webcast can be found at
https://glvcsn.com/uiu/ while Live Stats can be viewed at
https://uiupeacocks.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary. Both links will be included with this story.
SEE YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS… The Peacocks won both of their matches last week as they dominated Illinois Springfield 77-53 before taking down McKendree 68-66 on Senior Day. The consecutive victories boosted the Peacocks to 13-12 on the year and 10-9 in the GLVC where they officially cliched a spot in the GLVC Championship Tournament. UIU currently sits at #7 in the conference as they have accumulated a 3.32 rating in the
GLVC Point Rating System.
GLVC PLAYOFF PICTURE…
Clinched a Spot in the GLVC Championship Tournament
- Lewis (17-1)
- Quincy (15-3)
- Drury (15-3)
- Missouri-St. Louis (13-6)
- Maryville (11-8)
- Missouri S&T (10-8)
- Upper Iowa (10-9)
In the Hunt
- Truman State (10-8)
- McKendree (9-9)
ICE IN HER VEINS… Helen Staley concluded her Senior Day on the best note possible, as she scored a game-winning, off-balance, fadeaway at the buzzer to officially clinch a playoff berth over McKendree. She scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting, while leading the Peacocks with eight rebounds and five assists. In the victory over Illinois Springfield, Staley scored six points on 3-4 shooting while once again leading Upper Iowa with eight rebounds and six assists, including a game-high three steals. She has averaged 7.4 rebounds per game this season which ranks eighth in the GLVC while dishing out the fourth most assists at 3.6 per game.
SETTING SEASON-HIGHS… Anna Soler also put together a phenomenal Senior Day as she scored a season-high 18 points on 8-15 shooting. She scored a clutch layup to put the Peacocks up three with 56 seconds remaining and she recorded arguably the biggest rebound of the season, as she secured an offensive board with 11 seconds left in the game. Soler's eighth board of the match would lead to McKendree being forced to foul, where
Mia Huberty would convert both of her free throws to help UIU maintain a three-point lead. McKendree responded with a game-tying three with two seconds remaining, before Staley's buzzer beater would give Upper Iowa the victory.
DOMINANT DUO… Mia Huberty recorded her most efficient game of the season over UIS with a game-high 24 points on 10-11 shooting. She converted both of her three pointers in the match while dishing out five assists. Huberty followed that up with 16 points and four assists over McKendree, which extended her school-record streak to 23 straight games with ten or more points. She ranks second in the conference at 18.6 points per game while adding 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Kayla Bohr also scored in double figures in both games, highlighted by a 16-point performance over UIS on 7-16 shooting with five rebounds. She has scored 12.3 points per game on the year while hauling in an average of 4.0 rebounds per game.
OTHER NOTABLE FEBRUARY PERFORMANCES…
- Lindsey Davis: 16 points on 6-11 shooting from the floor while going 3-6 from beyond the arc at Southwest Baptist
- Ava Privet: ten points on 4-9 shooting with six rebounds, three assists and two steals vs. Lincoln
- Brooke Lechleitner: six points on 3-5 shooting with six rebounds, two assists and one block vs. Lincoln
- Sydnee Nelson: averaging 1.8 steals per game over the past four matches
PEACOCK SEASON HIGHS… (*) new addition
FIRST-SEEDED FLYERS… Lewis has posted the best record in the GLVC at 17-1 while going 23-2 on the season. They are nationally ranked at #21 in the country and are currently on a ten-game winning streak. Fifth year Taylor Gugliuzza ranks sixth in the conference with 16.0 points per game while adding 5.1 rebounds per game. She has shot 47.3% from the floor, 35.8% from three and 83.5% at the charity stripe on the season and is coming off her second highest game of the season against Illinois Springfield. She put up 33 points on 12-14 shooting while converting 6-7 of her three-point attempts. Sophomore Ally Cesarini has scored 10.4 points per game on 45.7% shooting. She has hauled in a team-high 5.9 boards per game while snagging a team-best 1.6 steals per game. Redshirt-Senior Jenna Badali has recorded 10.6 points per game while shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc and 87.0% at the free throw line. She has grabbed 3.8 rebounds per game while leading the Flyers with 4.0 assists per game.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS… The Quarterfinals of the GLVC Championship Tournament will be held on Thursday, Mar. 6 and Friday, Mar. 7. The Semifinals will take place on Saturday, Mar. 8 while the Championship will tip off on Sunday, Mar. 9 at 3:30 p.m.
