Feb. 26, 2006
Box Score
Cedar Falls, Iowa -
The final regular-season game in the West Gymnasium turned out to be a little more than the Panther faithful bargained for as the Shockers took UNI into overtime for the first time since Dec. 29th. UNI defeated Wichita State 70-64, outscoring its opponent 14-8 in the extra period.
"I really have to give Wichita State credit for their performance today - their effort and game plan was outstanding," head coach Tony DiCecco said. "This was a very emotional day for us - being the final game in the West Gym. We did not talk about it much but I could tell from the girls' eyes - it was emotional. We never panicked and never gave up. We always have talked about how Cassie changes the game for us so much, on both ends of the floor. This might have been one of her best defensive positioning games this entire year - she was always in a great position on the defensive end. Tara King is a big time player. She picked up on where we were struggling and gave us a game-changing effort."
Junior forward Tara King (Ottumwa, Iowa) had a career-high 33 points, going 12-of-22 from the field and hitting 4-of-6 treys. Senior center Cassie Hager (Perry, Iowa) tallied a career-high nine blocks and 12 points. Junior guard Jessie Biggs (Ottumwa, Iowa) led the team with nine rebounds and six assists.
Four seniors also were honored this afternoon for senior day: Hager, Rachel Kautzky (Perry, Iowa), Alicia Irons (Boone, Iowa) and Chelsey Matthias (Readlyn, Iowa).
Despite turning the ball over 23 times, UNI, on the back of Hager, had a season-high 11 blocks and shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field and 89.5 percent from the charity stripe (17-of-19). Kiki Stephens led the Shockers with 17 points and Antionette Wells had a game-high 13 rebounds. The Shockers narrowly outrebounded UNI 40-39 overall, however grabbed 19 offensive boards to the Panthers' six.
UNI took a 21-18 lead into halftime after two lead changes, including owning a 15-9 lead with 5:29 remaining. WSU took a 18-17 lead with 2:22 left after rolling through a 6-0 run. However, the first half scoring effort ended with a Hager layup and a jumper by junior guard Sarah Larsen.
King scored the Panthers' first six points in the second half on two field goals and a pair of free throws, although the Shockers took their largest lead of the second half, 34-29, with 14:43 remaining in regulation. King then tied the game, 34-34, with her first of three treys in the period at the 13:45 minute mark. The Panthers led by as many as six twice more in the final six minutes, but the Shockers fought themselves back in time and time again. Stephens tied the game, 56-56, with 1:07 remaining and neither team was able to find the bottom of the net from then on. Hager's ninth block of the game swatted Stephens' game-winning attempt away with 20 seconds left, forcing overtime.
Overtime started with a three-pointer from King and Hager added six points as UNI led for the final 3:10. Biggs brought UNI's lead to five, 69-64, with 36 seconds remaining, making two from the line.
UNI improves to 18-7, 12-4 in the MVC. It plays at Drake Thursday and Creighton Saturday.
