University of Northern Iowa
Evansville
UNI Takes Sole Possession of Second Place
2/3/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 2, 2006
Cedar Falls, Iowa - With a 53-47 hard fought win over the Evansville Purple Aces, University of Northern Iowa women's basketball took over second place in the Missouri Valley Conference this evening.
UNI took a 41-38 lead with 9:10 remaining in the second half off a three-pointer by sophomore forward Megan Keefe (Clear Lake, Iowa) and never relinquished it. This was after battling for a consistent lead the entire game. Evansvillecut the lead to two points many times, including with 1:35 remaining on a Shannon Novosel basket. Senior center Cassie Hager (Perry, Iowa) responded with a blocked shot and junior forward Tara King (Ottumwa, Iowa) grabbed her third field goal of the night in traffic down low, extending UNI's lead to 51-47 with 29 seconds left. Junior Jessie Biggs (Ottumwa, Iowa) then sealed the win, making both of her free throw attempts.
"We are very happy to be in second place alone but we cannot be satisfied," head coach Tony DiCecco said. "We need to find a way to get better each and every day. This is a tough league and we need to be focused on one game at a time. Every kid played their hearts out tonight and really battled tough. We were able to keep our heads up at halftime, even when we weren't shooting so well, and we came out and fought for every shot. "
Every Panther starter contributed three field goals, all scoring in both periods and contributing more than 30 minutes. Hager led UNI with 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Junior guard Sarah Larsen (Kalona, Iowa) was 3-for-4 from the field and made both her shots from the line. Sophomore guard Traci Ollendieck (Cresco, Iowa) added seven rebounds.
UNI shot 26. 1 percent from the field in the first half but came out and made 50. 0 percent of its field goals in the second stanza, shooting 37. 2 percent for the night. The Aces shot 32. 8 percent for the game and both teams connected on 80. 0 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe. Evansvillewas led by Megan Liffick with 13 points.
Both teams had a rough start - offensively that is - each shooting below 25. 0 percent in the first 12 minutes of the game. The first half witnessed 10 leads changes, five ties and 16 overall turnovers. UNI nailed three treys to the Aces nil, although Evansvillegot three second chance baskets and took a 26-23 halftime advantage.
Evansvilleis now 10-9, 6-4 in the MVC and UNI improves to 13-6, 7-3 in the MVC. The Panthers host Southern IllinoisSaturday at 12:05 p. m. in the West Gym.
