University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
UNI Tops Missouri State 65-62 in MVC Opener
1/2/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2009
Nicole Clausen led the Panthers with 19 points, and Nicole Clausen pulled UNI back within one with a long jumper from the baseline. K.K. Armstrong ended the Lady Bear run with a three, and Clausen connected on four free throws to stretch the Panther advantage to 39-29. Stiles made one of two free-throw attempts, but Armstrong converted layups on back-to-back possessions and Boeck hit a jumper from the block to give the Panthers points on three straight trips and a 45-32 lead with 15 minutes to play.
MSU responded with an 8-0 run to trim the UNI lead to 45-40, but Wypiszynski scored from the block to end the Lady Bear run and put the Panthers back in front by seven with 12:27 remaining.
Clausen knocked down a deep three to put the Panthers back up by double-digits, but Garrison answered with a three to cut the UNI lead to 50-43 at 11:30.
The Panthers answered with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to stretch their lead to 59-45. MSU responded with a 9-1 run that trimmed the Panther advantage to 60-54 with 4:38 remaining. A free throw from Rachel Madrigal made it a three-possession game at 61-54 with 4:20 remaining.
Lacey Boshe connected on a pair of free throws, and then she scored from the block on the next Lady Bear possession to pull MSU within three, 61-58 with 2:24 on the clock. Boshe capped a 6-0 MSU run with a basket at 1:03 that made the score 61-60 in favor of UNI. Armstrong gave the Panthers their first field goal in more than eight minutes when she drove into the lane and connected on a layup with 40 seconds remaining to put the Panthers in front 63-60.
Armstrong came up with a jump ball on the defensive end, and the possession arrow favored UNI with 18.9 seconds on the clock. MSU sent Clausen to the free-throw line, and the junior made both attempts to stretch UNI's lead to 65-60. Garrison scored as she was fouled with one second left, but she missed the free throw to make the final score 65-62.
The Panthers shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor, including 11-of-25 (44.0 percent) from three-point range. The Panthers made 12-of-16 (75 percent) free-throw attempts. Missouri State shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59), including 1-of-9 (11 percent) from behind the arc. The Lady Bears were 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) from the free-throw line. The Panthers return to action on Sunday when they play at Wichita State at 2:05 p.m.
