FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa women's basketball (13-12, 9-8 GLVC) heads to Illinois for matchups against McKendree (Ill.) (14-8, 11-5 GLVC) and Illinois Springfield (11-13, 8-8 GLVC). The Peacocks play the Bearcats on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
UIU then plays Illinois Springfield on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the TRAC (The Recreation and Athletic Center). The Peacocks enter the weekend in eighth place in the GLVC point rating system at 3.18, while the Prairie Stars enter in ninth with a rating of 3.06. The top eight teams make the GLVC Tournament.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks fell, 72-60, to GLVC first-place Missouri-St. Louis (20-3, 16-1 GLVC) and 79-53 to third-place Maryville (Mo.) (19-6, 13-4 GLVC) this past weekend. Graduate Ellie Foster averaged 13.5 points, while Kendyl Lodermeier averaged 12 points and eight rebounds in the two contests.
UMSL controlled the paint, outscoring UIU 50-14 with center Mara Rieder totaling 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Tritons outscored the Peacocks 41-31 in the middle two quarters to control the game. Lodermeier led the Peacocks, scoring 14 points, all in the second half.
Maryville outscored Upper Iowa 50-24 in the second half after both teams were tied at halftime. The Saints started the second half on an 8-0 run, holding UIU 0-for-7 from the field. Foster was the top scorer for the Peacocks, totaling 17 points while shooting 3-for-5 (60%) from behind the arc. Lodermeier had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while senior Amelia Valentino scored a season-high eight points.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Foster leads the team, averaging 13.8 points per game along with 4.2 rebounds per game. The graduate is tied for ninth in the GLVC in points per game. She's made 65 3-pointers this season, the most of any player in the conference. Her 38.5% 3-point percentage ranks fourth in the GLVC.
Privet is second on the team, averaging 12.5 points per game, ranking 15th in the conference. She's shooting 38.2% on 3-pointers, the fifth-best mark in the conference. Her 92.7% (51-of-55) free-throw percentage leads the GLVC.
Lodermeier is averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game. She's tied for 13th in the GLVC in rebounds per game. The freshman is shooting 50.5% from the field, ranking seventh in the conference.
Bryar Duwe is adding 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Sydnee Nelson leads the team in assists with 3.7, ranking fourth in the conference.
UIU averages 65.6 points per game and gives up 66.7 points per game, ranking 10th and 11th in the GLVC, respectively. The Peacocks shoot the third-best 3-point percentage in the conference at 34.6% while making a league-high 207 3-pointers. UIU is also third in free-throw percentage (75.4%) and sixth in blocked shots (3.40 per game).
AROUND THE GLVC
UMSL remains in first after a 2-0 weekend and a point rating of 4.76. Drury (Mo.) (18-6, 15-2 GLVC) is on a conference-best nine-game winning streak in second with a 4.38 rating. Maryville is in third with a 4.09 rating. The Tritons, Panthers and Saints have all clinched a spot in the GLVC Tournament.
Lewis (Ill.) (15-9, 11-5 GLVC) is in fourth with a rating of 3.94 and McKendree is in fifth with a rating of 3.81. Truman State (Mo.) (15-9, 12-4 GLVC) is in sixth at 3.69. Quincy (Ill.) (13-10, 10-6 GLVC) is ahead of UIU with a 3.38 rating.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS - Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
McKendree enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak. The Bearcats went on the road this weekend and defeated UIndy (5-20, 4-13 GLVC), 57-49, and Lewis, 61-54. McKendree's Baylie Parks scored 21 points with 16 rebounds in the win over Lewis.
Parks averages a team-high 15.5 points per game with 9.2 rebounds per game. She has the third-highest scoring average and rebound average in the GLVC. The 5-foot-11 junior shoots 50.9% from the field, ranking sixth in the conference.
Sophomore center Kyra Taylor adds 13.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. She is shooting 46.7% from the field. She's tied for 12th in the GLVC in scoring and is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage.
Sophomore Tessa Crawford adds 8.5 points per game. Junior guard Emma Slings scores 6.3 points per game with a team-high 3.9 assists per game. Slings ranks third in the GLVC in assists per game.
McKendree has the highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 73.4 points per game. The Bearcats are fifth in defensive scoring, giving up 63 points per game. McKendree is tied for the conference lead in rebounding, averaging 42.1 per game.
Head Coach Kari Kerkhoff is in her 11th season with the Bearcats. During her time at McKendree, she's coached two D2CCA All-Region players and 13 All-GLVC players.
ABOUT THE PRAIRIE STARS - Saturday at 1 p.m.
Illinois Springfield enters on a two-game win streak against Missouri S&T (9-13, 5-11 GLVC) and UIndy. Kayla Rice scored 25 points in the win over S&T, while Kennedy Osterman and Libby Blynthe scored 17 points each against UIndy.
Rice averages a team-best 15.2 points per game, ranking fourth in the conference. The junior guard averages 3.3 steals per game, ranking second in the GLVC. Freshman Julia Mingus adds 12.3 points per game, ranking 17th in the GLVC.
Ostermann adds 11.7 points per game and a team-best 4.4 rebounds per game. Blythe averages 8.6 points per game while shooting 50.9% from the field. Freshman guard Molly Knight is scoring 6.6 points per game.
UIS ranks sixth in scoring in the GLVC with 68 points per game. The Prairie Stars give up 65 points per game, the eighth-fewest in the conference. Illinois Springfield shoots 37.3% from behind the arc, ranking second in the conference. UIS has the best turnover margin in the GLVC at +4.13, while averaging the most steals in the conference with 13.
Olivia Burt is in her second season with the Prairie Stars. She has a 16-36 record at Illinois Springfield with a 121-89 record in her career between UIS and Millikin (Ill.).
