University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Louisville
Panthers Fall to Louisville in Cancun, 81-53
11/27/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2009
CANCUN, Mexico – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team dropped an 81-53 contest to Louisville in the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic Friday night. The Panthers trailed by just six points at half, but a 52-point second-half effort by the Cardinals kept the game out of reach for the Panthers.
Nicole Clausen led UNI (0-4) with 12 points, and Kim Wypiszynski added 11. K.K. Armstrong, Erin Brocka and Jacqui Kalin each finished with six rebounds for the Panthers.
The Panthers shot 19-of-55 (34.5 percent), including a season-high 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from three-point range. UNI connected on 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) free-throw attempts.
Louisville (3-1) was led by Monique Reid, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ashley Rainey finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Cardinals.
Louisville shot 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) from the floor, including a 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) effort in the second half. The Cardinals were 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from three-point range and 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) from the free-throw line.
UNI led through much of the first half, taking a 17-13 lead at 7:36 on a pair of free throws from Wypiszynski. The Cardinals went on a 12-2 run to take a 25-19 lead. Louisville would lead by as many as eight points in the first half, but a pair of free throws from Brocka with 57 seconds on the clock cut the Panther deficit to 29-23, which would be the halftime score.
Clausen hit a three on UNI's first possession out of the break to pull the Panthers within three, but Louisville scored seven straight points to open up a 10-point lead, 36-26.
Louisville extended its lead to 12, but Kalin hit a three to bring the difference back to single digits, 43-34 with 13:49 to play. The Cardinals rattled off the next eight points to take a 51-34 lead at 12:18.
Leading 61-43, the Cardinals used another 7-0 run to extend its lead to 25 with 5:42 on the clock. The Panthers were unable to pull any closer than 23 from that point, and the Cardinals led by as many as 30 points on the way to the 81-53 win.
The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they play Butler at 5 p.m.
