FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa women's basketball gets the regular season rolling with a nonconference matchup against a former NSIC foe, Wayne State (Neb.). Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Rice Arena in Wayne, Nebraska.

UIU last played Wayne State on Feb. 3, 2023, winning 73-59 in Fayette to snap a 14-game losing streak to the Wildcats. The Peacocks are 0-11 in Wayne since 2011.

LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the game on Monday 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 Midco Sports. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options. 

EXHIBITION RECAP
Upper Iowa had a few great opportunities this preseason to face quality Division I competition in exhibition games. The Peacocks started the action on Monday, Oct. 26, against Northern Iowa and faced Iowa State in Ames on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Lindsey Davis was the top scorer for the Peacocks, totaling nine points. Ava Privet knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and freshman Cora Widel added six points. Sydnee Nelson was the team's top rebounder with five and added three assists as well. 

"Iowa State was an amazing experience," Maass said. "Bill Fennelly is one of the best coaches of all time, and playing against a really good team allowed us to learn some things about ourselves. It was a great experience for our girls and is something they will never forget."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: RETURNERS
The Peacocks return 10 players from last year's team, including five players who saw starting action: Bryar Duwe, Josie Foster, Kendyl Lodermeier, Nelson and Privet. Upper Iowa does need to replace its leading scorer from a season ago, Ellie Foster, who led the team with 14.9 points per game. 

"Losing Ellie is big," said head coach Justin Maass, who enters his fifth season with the Peacocks. "She's playing professionally in Finland for a reason, and she's doing really well out there. But we did return a lot. You lose Ellie and Amelia Valentino from the rotation, but we returned just about everything else. It's a collective effort. Everybody is stepping up, including some players making that big jump from their freshman to sophomore years." 

With Foster no longer drawing the attention of the opposing defense, the Peacock returners will have to adjust to the challenges that it brings. 

"That's always a challenge because some players were maybe the second or third option on an opposing team's scouting report, while Ellie was probably number one," Maass said. "Now that she's gone, everybody moves up. Maybe you're being guarded by a better defender, or the opposing defense is more focused on you than in the past."

Privet, a senior from Caledonia, Minnesota, is the top-scoring returner from the 2025-26 campaign. Last season, Privet averaged 13 points per game while making 67 3-pointers, the fifth-most in a season in program history. The All-GLVC Second Team selection was also 57-of-61 (93.4%) at the free-throw line, the fourth-best mark in a season in program history. 

Privet has already established herself as an elite 3-point shooter, but continuing to develop other assets of her game will be key to becoming a more complete player.

"She's probably going to see more aggressive defense because Ellie isn't there on that side anymore," Maass said. "We've been challenging her to use off-ball movement, screening and distributing to take advantage of that. Then, on the defensive end, it's about stepping up and continuing to grow. Being a senior, she should know everything, know how to handle everything and understand all the coverages."

Lodermeier averaged 11.4 points per game and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game to earn GLVC All-Freshman Team honors last season. Now entering her second season, she brings a year of familiarity with the program and its system. 

"Kendyl is just solid and very consistent," Maass said. "We're trying to add a few different things to her game. Hopefully, she can shoot the three a little bit more, shoot the mid-range a little bit more and expand her game offensively. But the best part about Kendyl is how consistent she is. There are never really bad stretches. There might be a bad day or a bad moment, but what makes Kendyl special is that it's never a bad week or a bad three or four-day stretch."

Nelson returns at point guard for the Peacocks after averaging four assists per game last season, tying for the second-most in the conference. The senior will continue to be a distributor for the offense this season.

"Sydnee's the engine that gets us going," Maass said. "Transition is a big part of our game, and she's the one who pushes our team and facilitates that. She's also started to grow a lot in terms of facilitating in the half-court. Whether it's off-ball screens or different actions where we're utilizing her dribble a little bit more, she's able to pass it and get everybody great looks."

Duwe returns for her senior campaign as well after averaging 8.1 points per game in her first season with the team after transferring in last year. Foster is also back for her sophomore campaign after appearing in all 29 games and averaging 4.7 points. 

Davis is also healthy and back in the mix after only appearing in eight games last season, averaging 7.1 points in those contests. Magi Bjornson, Steph Cink, Kenzie Deaton and Reagan Hofer are all back to contribute as well.

MEET THE PEACOCKS: NEWCOMERS
The Peacocks added four newcomers this season: Jessica Fisher, Aubrie Klug, Kana Nagashima and Widel. Nagashima is the lone transfer from Ellsworth Community College and hails from Tokyo, Japan. 

Widel saw extended playing time coming off the bench in the exhibition matchups. The freshman was the Class 3A All-State Tournament Team MVP last year at Maquoketa High School. She finished her career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,437 career points. Widel had a team-high four blocks against the Cyclones last week.

"Cora has been really special and really good for us," Maass said. "She's 6-foot-1 and might be our fastest player on the floor. She's one of our best athletes, so that's a very unique combination of size, skill and athleticism. On top of that, she's a great offensive player. Cora can hit the three and get to the rim. Defensively, she gets into passing lanes with those long arms, blocks a ton of shots and is a good rebounder."

Fisher also got some good minutes against Iowa State, grabbing three rebounds while adding a block and a steal. The Owatonna, Minnesota native also had multiple blocks in the exhibition matchup against Northern Iowa.

"Jessica's another player who's really eager to learn, has a chip on her shoulder and is growing a ton," Maass said. "She's learning the physicality and speed of the game. It's not easy for post players in our offense because they're kind of who we run things through once we get into the half-court. There's a big learning curve with that. But I definitely think she's shown some good things, especially at Iowa State, where she didn't back down against players who were at least her height or bigger, and probably quite a bit heavier."

Klug finished her career at Caledonia High School in Minnesota as the all-time leading scorer with 2,055 points. She was the Fillmore County Journal Basketball Athlete of the Year and helped the Warriors make the state tournament with a 20-6 record during her senior season.

GLVC PRESEASON POLL
The Peacocks were picked right where they finished the regular season last year, eighth in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll. UIU earned 107 points in the poll, and it was the team's second straight season being picked eighth. 

Maryville (Mo.), the winner of last season's GLVC Tournament, earned the most points in the poll with 186 and received six first-place votes. 2025-26 Regular Season GLVC Champion Missouri-St. Louis earned 183 points and six first-place votes. Drury (Mo.) came in third with 171 points and two first-place votes. 

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
After having six nonconference home games last season, women's basketball has flipped this season with just one nonconference home matchup on Dec. 8 against Viterbo (Wis.). UIU's home opener in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium is on Dec. 2 vs. Truman State (Mo.).

"It is going to be a challenge, but it's also a good opportunity," Maass said. "Not playing at home, not sleeping in your own bed the night before, and not having Dorman's energy are all tough things to deal with. But there's a lot of growth and learning that can happen. I believe with how much experience we're returning that we'll be able to handle it while learning and growing with the challenge that being on the road brings." 

Another big reason the Peacocks aren't at home a ton early on is that the team is adding another awesome experience this season with a trip to Puerto Rico for three games on Nov. 22-24. UIU faces Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and Pontifical Catholic University on the island of enchantment. 

"The trip is going to be a lot of fun," Maass said. "It's been four years in the making, with a lot of fundraising to pull it off. What an amazing opportunity and experience for the girls to travel to Puerto Rico, spend time on the beach and in the rainforest, explore different cultures and gain a ton of experience while still playing three games."

Upper Iowa opens conference play at Quincy (Ill.) on Nov. 30 before the home game against Truman State (Mo.) on Dec. 2. UIU has a tough conference schedule, playing both Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville (Mo.) twice, both of which were picked atop the conference.

"In the GLVC, every night, anybody can win a game," Maass said. "There's never really an outcome that's a shock to me. We definitely have a tough GLVC schedule, especially to start the season and coming out of winter break. But those are also opportunities to compete at the highest level and get some wins against some of the best teams in the conference."