Panthers Set For Battle At #21 Drake

Friday, February 24

Des Moines, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Drake

Panthers Set For Battle At #21 Drake

2/21/2017 4:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

COMPLETE RELEASE IN PDF FORMAT
Game 27 at #21 Drake
When: Friday, Feb. 24, 2017
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Place: Knapp Center (Des Moines, Iowa)
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com
TV: ESPN3
Radio: UNIPanthers.com or 1540 KXEL

The Basics: The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball program will head to Des Moines on Friday, Feb. 24 to take on the undefeated Drake Bulldogs for an in-state clash. The game is set for a 7 p.m. CT tip on The Valley on ESPN3 with Brad Wells, Laura Leonard and Debbie Antonelli calling the action.

About the Bulldogs: The Drake Bulldogs enter the game against UNI 22-4 overall and a perfect 15-0 in league play, the best start to the conference season in MVC history. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 21st in the Associate Press Top-25 and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the highest ranking in program history since the 1982-83 team was ranked No. 20. They are led by senior Lizzy Wendell, who currently leads the league in scoring (20.9 ppg).

Five Facts:
• Tanya Warren holds an overall record of 182-136 in her 10th season at UNI. She is just one win away from tying Tony DiCecco for all-time wins leader at UNI.
• UNI ranks eighth in NCAA Division I women's basketball in turnovers per game, only averaging 12.0 per game.
• Madison Weekly is ranked No. 9 in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.03).
• UNI has 20 wins this season, marking the first time in program history to have back-to-back seasons with 20-or-more wins.
• The Panthers are ranked in the top-50 in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, only allowing teams to shoot 28-percent from the arc.

Panthers by the Numbers:
• Six post-season appearances in the last seven years.
• 24 wins in 2015-16, second most in program history.
• 35 games played in 2015-16, a school record.
• Eight consecutive seasons with 17+ wins.
• 129 wins when holding opponents to 60 points or less in the Warren era.
• 13 seasons ranked in the top-15 in the NCAA in team GPA.
• 103 wins inside the McLeod Center.

Tickets: Fans can purchase single-game or season tickets through the UNI Athletics ticket office by calling 319-273-4849 or visiting the UNITIX website.

How to Tune In: Fans can follow along with the action against Drake The Valley on ESPN3. Live stats will also be provided at www.statbroadcast.com. Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will be giving play-by-play action on the radio on 1540 KXEL or fans can listen in on www.UNIPanthers.com.

Follow the Panthers Online: UNI fans can get all their Panther news and notes on www.UNIPanthers.com. Fans can also access UNI on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/UNIAthletics and Twitter at
@UNIAthletics. UNI Women's Basketball also has individual accounts:

Facebook: Search - UNI Women's Basketball
Twitter: @UNIWBB
Instagram: @UNIPantherWBB

Join us at Pepper's: UNI will host a weekly press luncheon at Pepper's in Cedar Falls on Mondays at noon. All of the in-season head coaches will address the media with a weekly recap/preview of their team and then will be open to questions. All media and fans are welcome to attend.

Conflicting Stats: The Panthers and the Bulldogs will go head-to-head on Friday with one of the best defenses and the best offenses in the league colliding. UNI is currently ranked No. 2 in the MVC (No. 39 in NCAA) in scoring defense (allowing 57.4 ppg) while Drake is ranked No. 1 in the conference (No. 8 in NCAA) in scoring offense (83.1 ppg). UNI is also No. 1 in 3-point field goal defense (No. 43 in NCAA) while Drake ranks No. 1 in 3-pointers made per game (No. 22 in NCAA).

Close Games: In the last five seasons, the games between UNI and Drake have been decided by an average of just seven points, including three overtime games (2012, 2014, 2017). Of UNI's 41 overtime games in program history, seven have come against Drake.

Victory Numbers: Head coach Tanya Warren is just two wins away from becoming UNI's all-time wins leader, sitting with 182. Former head coach Tony DiCecco had 183 wins from 1995-2006.

Climbing the Ranks: Tanya Warren currently has 182 wins overall and 115 in Valley play. She ranks No. 8 all-time in Valley history in all-time wins (No. 7 is Tony DiCecco - 183 wins) and has also moved into No. 7 in MVC wins (No. 6 is Lisa Bluder - 116).

Ranked Opponents: Drake enters the game ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll, making it the seventh ranked opponent UNI has faced in the Tanya Warren era and the second this season. UNI defeated No. 24 Kansas State during the non-conference season.

Back-to-Back: With UNI's win over Indiana State (2/19), the Panthers have 20 wins. It is the fifth time in program history that Panthers have had 20-or-more victories in a season and the first time the Panthers have reached 20 wins in back-to-back seasons (1981-82, 22-9 | 2004-05, 20-11 | 2010-11, 27-6 | 2015-16, 24-11 | 2016-17, 20-6).

Stealing Stats: Sophomore Ellie Herzberg finished the game against Indiana State (2/19) with a career-high eight steals, one away from tying the school record for steals in a game. The UNI record of nine steals was set in 1999 against Tulsa by Allison Starr.

Take Away: UNI's 19 steals against the Sycamores (2/19) was a season-high. The UNI record for steals in a game by the team is 26, set against Marycrest in 1980.

Leading Scorer: Madison Weekly has scored in the 20-point range seven times this season, including her 20 points in UNI's win over Indiana State (2/19). It was the 28th time in her career to reach the mark. Her career-high of 28 points was set twice in 2016 (at Missouri State, 1/10/16 | vs. Southern Illinois, 1/3/16).

Field Goal Game: Madison Weekly moved into a tie for sixth all-time in career field goals made (532). She is tied with Lizzie Boeck who had 532 from 2007-11.

Consecutive Games: Senior Madison Weekly has played in 108 consecutive games in the Purple and Old Gold and 118 overall (100th against Iowa, 12/4/16). She has also started in 93 straight games and 104 overall. She started in her 100th career game at Southern Illinois (2/5). She is eighth all-time at UNI in career starts.

That Defense Though: The Panthers are holding opponents to 57.4 points per game through 26 games this season, ranking No. 5 all-time at UNI. UNI has held its opponents to below 60 points in 16 games.

From the Three: Madison Weekly has knocked down 50 three-pointers this season, giving her 243 in her career. Her career three-pointer total ranks her No. 2 all-time at UNI in career treys made.

Assisting: Madison Weekly has 317 career assists, cracking the top-10 all-time at UNI in career dimes, making her just the 10th player in UNI history to have 300 or more assists.

Warren Gets Defensive: UNI is 129-17 under the direction of Tanya Warren when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. Five of UNI's top-10 scoring defense averages in school history have come during the Warren era, ranking second in the Valley this season, only allowing 57.4 points per game. The Panthers are 16-0 this season when holding an opponent to 60 points or less.

Bench Play: UNI's bench has outscored its opponent's bench 702-409 through 26 games this year. The Panther bench is averaging 27 points per game, outscoring the opponent in 23 of UNI's 26 games this season, including 17 straight.

Dimes: Madison Weekly is currently averaging 4.2 assists per game, ranking No. 8 all-time at UNI in single-season assist average. She is also No. 3 in the Valley with 107 total.

One of Four: Senior Madison Weekly became just the fourth player in UNI history to score 1,500 career points with 1,659 through 118 career games (1,500th came against Evansville, 1/8).

Rebounding Numbers: Senior Hannah Schonhardt has been dominating on the boards this season, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. She has 187 rebounds, with 146 being on the defensive end of the court. She ranks third all-time at UNI in career defensive rebounds with 530.