Bench Scoring Lifts UNI Over Kansas State on the Road

Thursday, December 21

Manhattan, Kansas

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

4-7

Kansas State

8-3

UNI

Kansas State

Bench Scoring Lifts UNI Over Kansas State on the Road

12/21/2017 9:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FINAL STATS

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In a game that was dominated by runs and lead changes, senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick and junior Mikaela Morgan combined to score 42 points off the bench as the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team (4-7) held on for a gutsy road victory over Kansas State (8-3), 72-71.

The Wildcats had a chance to win or tie Thursday's game at the free throw line, but Kayla Goth missed both shots from the charity stripe as UNI held on for the road victory. With the win, UNI improved to 4-7 on the season, while KSU fell to 8-3 overall to cap the non-conference slate.

"Every time they went on a run, we would answer it and that's what good teams do," head coach Tanya Warren said. "We could've ducked our heads a little bit in the fourth quarter, but we found a way to get a stop and the win."

The Power-5 victory for UNI was its second of the season, with the first coming against Iowa State on Nov. 14. The pair of Power-5 wins for the Panthers are the most since the 2015-16 season.

Kirkpatrick finished the game with a career-high 24 points, after nailing seven shots from beyond-the-arc. Morgan was not far behind in points or 3-pointers, after finishing with a career-high 18 points and six made treys.

UNI went 22-of-53 (41.5%) from the floor, while shooting lights out from the 3-point line at 16-of-31 (51.6%). The 16 made 3-pointers were a season-high for the Panthers and also a season-high given up by KSU. UNI was extremely efficient on offense as the Panthers earned 22 baskets on 22 assists.

The Panthers battled a tough KSU zone early on, but made four 3-pointers to loosen up the Wildcat defense. Morgan drained three of those shots from beyond-the-arc, as she added nine points off the bench to give UNI a 16-14 lead after the opening period.

The Panthers would build a 28-20 advantage following a trey from Kirkpatrick, but the Wildcats mounted a 9-0 run to retake the lead with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter. UNI wouldn't back down however, as the Panthers returned a 12-6 run to hold a 40-35 advantage at the break.

The 3-point trend continued into the third quarter for UNI, as Kirkpatrick opened the half with a pair of triples before Ellie Howell added another to give UNI its largest lead of the game at 49-37 with 5:44 left in the period. The Wildcats clawed back with a 15-2 run however to close out the quarter and retake the lead.

Trailing by 62-60, Megan Maahs made a pair of free throws to tie the game with 2:41 remaining, before Kirkpatrick buried a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch to give the Panthers a 68-64 lead with 1:13 left. The Wildcats made a final push by knocking down a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to a point, but couldn't convert a pair of free throws as the Panthers left the Little Apple with a 72-71 victory.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return home on Dec. 29 as UNI opens MVC play against Loyola on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase season and single-game tickets to UNI women's basketball home games through UNITIX. Call 319-273-4849 or visit www.UNITIX.uni.edu.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the UNI women's basketball program, follow the Panthers on Twitter at "@UNIWBB" and on Facebook at "UNI Women's Basketball."

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The win over the Power 5 foe is UNI's second of the season, with the first coming against Iowa State (57-53) on Nov. 14.
The two wins over Power 5 opponents is the most for UNI since the 2015-16 season, when the Panthers defeated Georgia Tech and Nebraska.
Thursday's game had 10 lead changes and seven ties.
Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick earned a career-high in points (24) and made 3-pointers (7).
Junior Mikaela Morgan also earned a career-high in points (18) and made 3-pointers (6).
The 16 made 3-pointers for UNI was one shy of a school record.
The seven made 3-pointers for Kirkpatrick were also one shy of a school record for an individual at UNI.
Freshman Karli Rucker and redshirt sophomore Rose Simon-Ressler each earned their third career starts as Panthers. The start for Rucker was her third-straight at point guard.
Freshman Nicole Kroeger earned her fifth-consecutive start in the Panther lineup.