FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa women's basketball (10-9, 6-5 GLVC) aims to build on its two wins this past weekend against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) (5-12, 2-9 GLVC) and Drury (Mo.) (12-6, 9-2 GLVC) this upcoming weekend. The Peacocks face the Bearcats at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29, and the Panthers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend 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.
TICKET INFORMATION
New this year, tickets for all Peacock home events can be purchased digitally at tickets.uiu.edu. Single game tickets are now available online and at the ticket booth on gameday. If you want to pay in person, both Harms-Eischeid Stadium and Dorman Memorial Gymnasium are now accepting all major credit cards, checks and cash.
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAMS
Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans at our games and to those watching at home. QR Codes will be located around the gym to scan with your cell phone's camera, which will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks went 2-0 this past weekend, picking up double-digit wins over William Jewell (0-17, 0-11 GLVC) and Rockhurst (Mo.) (6-11, 2-9 GLVC). Graduate Ellie Foster led the Peacocks, scoring 20 points in each game while shooting 52.6% from behind the arc.
Upper Iowa defeated William Jewell, 68-53, after UIU shot 12-of-23 (52.2%) on 3-pointers. In the second quarter, UIU went on a 12-0 run, capped off by an Ava Privet 3-pointer for the 27-26 lead. The Peacocks never trailed again, and Foster knocked down a step-back 3-pointer with 91 seconds left to ice the 15-point win.
Kendyl Lodermeier recorded her first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Rockhurst. That marked a career-high in points and rebounds for the freshman. Up 63-53 heading into the final five minutes of play, the Peacocks went on a 10-0 run with two Foster 3-pointers, icing the game and getting the 73-60 win.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Foster bumped her point average to 13.3 this weekend, moving up to 12th in the GLVC. She's adding 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Foster is shooting 39.4% from behind the arc, ranking fifth in the conference and 24th in the nation. She leads the GLVC in 3-pointers made with 50, also ranking 10th nationally.
Privet is scoring 12.2 points per game with 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The junior is 20th in the conference in scoring while ranking third in 3-point percentage at 40.5%. She's made the second-most 3-pointers in the conference and 18th-most nationally with 47.
Lodermeier is averaging 10.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists during her freshman campaign. She is shooting 52% from the field, ranking sixth in the GLVC. Bryar Duwe is averaging 9.1 points per game, a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game. She's tied for 20th in the GLVC in rebounding.
Junior guard Sydnee Nelson is adding 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and a team-high 3.6 assists per game. She ranks third in the GLVC in assists per game and is fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
The Peacocks are averaging 65.1 points per game while giving up 66 points per game. Those marks rank 10th and eighth in the GLVC, respectively.
As a team, Upper Iowa is shooting 34.7% on 3-pointers, which is the third-best mark in the conference. It also ranks 24th nationally. The Peacocks average 8.4 3-pointers per game, ranking 13th in the nation.
AROUND THE GLVC
Missouri-St. Louis (15-2, 11-0 GLVC) remains unbeaten in GLVC play after defeating Maryville (Mo.) (15-5, 9-3 GLVC) by 10 points on Saturday. Drury (Mo.) and Lewis (Ill.) (12-6, 8-2 GLVC) each trail the Tritons with two losses in GLVC play.
Lewis is on a conference-best 10-game winning streak after defeating Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist this past weekend. That's the longest streak of any GLVC team this season. The winning streak gets put to the test as the Flyers take on Drury on Thursday night.
Maryville, McKendree (Ill.) (11-6, 8-3 GLVC), Truman State (Mo.) (10-8, 7-3 GLVC) and Quincy (Ill.) (9-8, 6-4 GLVC) are all ahead of the Peacocks in the GLVC standings by record. UIU enters the weekend in eighth in the GLVC by record.
McKendree's Baylie Parks earned her fourth career GLVC Player of the Week award after averaging 25 points and 9.5 rebounds in wins over Missouri S&T and Lincoln (Mo.). She scored 34 points against the Blue Tigers and notched a double-double against the Miners.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS - Thursday at 5 p.m.
Southwest Baptist enters Thursday's matchup on a five-game losing streak, and the Bearcats are 1-6 on the road this season. SBU's last win was by 17 points against Lincoln on Jan. 8.
Graduate guard Natalia Crooke leads the Bearcats averaging 11.3 points per game. She adds 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She's coming off back-to-back season-high appearances against UIndy and Lewis this past weekend with 17 points in each game.
Junior forward Kamiyah Hurd is adding 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. She's fifth in the GLVC in rebounding. Ida Lusadisu N'Gonda adds 9.8 points per game while Tinu Fakunle is scoring 8.5 points per game.
Southwest Baptist ranks 11th in the GLVC in scoring with 63.1 points per game. They are 12th in scoring defense giving up 67.6 points per game. The Bearcats lead the GLVC in blocked shots, averaging four per game as a team.
Head coach Wyketha Harrell is in her third season with the Bearcats. She has a record of 24-47 with the program.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS - Saturday at 1 p.m.
Drury has won three-straight games and four out of its last five. The Panthers defeated Illinois Springfield and UIndy this past weekend. Their only two conference losses are by seven points to UMSL and three points to Maryville.
Sara Mendel is averaging 14.6 points and 10 rebounds during her junior season. She leads the GLVC in rebounds and ranks 21st in the nation in rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 and Ava, Missouri native is sixth in the conference in scoring.
Senior guard Rhi Gibbons is adding 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She's 11th in the GLVC in points per game. Kaylee King is scoring 9.3 points while Jazz Gray adds 7.6 points. King leads the team in assists with 2.5 per game while Gray has 2.3 per game.
Drury has the second-best scoring offense in the conference, averaging 70.4 points per game. The Panthers are giving up 63.8 points per game, ranking sixth. They are first in the GLVC in 3-point percentage (37.5%), third in field goal percentage (43.9%), fourth in combined rebounding (39.1 per game), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (0.99) and fifth in assists (13.61 per game).
Head coach Kaci Bailey is in her third season with Drury. She led the team to a 22-7 record last season to get the second seed in the GLVC Tournament, and they reached the GLVC Championship in 2023-24 with an NCAA Tournament appearance. She has a 59-20 record with the program entering this weekend.
