University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Panthers Earn NCAA At-Large Bid, Will Play DePaul Friday
3/13/2017 7:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI women's basketball team is doing to the big dance after being selected to the 2017 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tonight. The Panthers are slated to play DePaul on Friday, March 17 in Starkville, Miss. in the Oklahoma City Region at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
It is the third time in program history that the Panthers have secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament, also appearing in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011. The selection is the first at-large bid the Missouri Valley Conference has received since 2013 and just the 11th in conference history.
The Panthers are coming off another historic season. UNI currently has 24 wins, the first time in school history the Panthers have had back-to-back seasons with 20-plus victories. They finished second during the MVC regular season and made a run to the MVC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive year.
This is UNI's seventh post-season appearance in the last eight seasons. UNI has played against the DePaul Demons three times in program history (1983, 1985, 2001) with the 2001 game taking place in the WNIT.
The Panthers enter the NCAA Tournament with a 24-8 overall record, which included a 9-5 non-conference finish. UNI has faced off against eight teams ranked inside the top-100 in RPI, beating three inside the top-60 and is the only Valley school with two top-25 RPI wins.
It is the eighth straight season that UNI has won 17 or more games and is the ninth season in a row that the Panthers have finished in the top-half of the Valley standings. At the helm of the program is head coach Tanya Warren, who became UNI's all-time wins leader this season with 186 career coaching wins.
With all of the success the team had this season, several individuals were honored on and off the court. Madison Weekly was once again named MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming just the third player in Valley history to win the award twice in a career.
The Atkins, Iowa, native also earned her third straight MVC All-Conference first-team selection, joined by sophomore Ellie Herzberg. Herzberg was also named the MVC Sixth Player of the Year, becoming the first player in UNI history to come off the bench and earn first-team all-conference honors. Megan Maahs rounded out UNI's conference selections, earning a spot on the All-Freshman team.
In the classroom, Weekly, Herzberg and Angie Davison earned Scholar-Athlete team honors while Davison also received the MVC Elite 18 Award. The Elite 18 Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the finals site at each of the MVC's 18 team championships. UNI has won the award two years in a row with Weekly receiving the recognition in 2016.
Both Weekly and Davison also landed on the All-Tournament Team after leading the Panthers to the championship game. Weekly averaged 13.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game during the tournament. Davison had one of the best span of games in her career, averaging 16.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists. She scored a career-high 21 points in the semifinals against Evansville, tying the MVC Tournament record for threes made in a game with seven.
In the community, Davison was also a role model for Panther athletes and fans all around. She was named to the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team, an award that shines light on student-athletes for the things they accomplish off the court.
Fans can follow along with the action this week at the NCAA Tournament through Twitter (@UNIWBB) and Snapchat (UNIAthletics). The game will air live on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. CT.
