University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
Panthers Bounce Back, Knock off Missouri State, 62-54
12/31/2011 1:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cedar Falls, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team wrapped up 2011 in the same way it spent most of the year - winning a basketball game. The Panthers topped preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State 62-54 on Saturday afternoon in the McLeod Center to move to 8-5 on the season and even their MVC record at 1-1.
Senior guard Katelin Oney led the UNI charge with 16 points, shooting 3-of-5 from three-point range. Oney also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
Three other Panthers reached double-digits in scoring, with senior Rachel Madrigal pouring in 12, junior Mercedees Morgan adding 11, and junior Amber Kirschbaum scoring 10 points.
Preseason MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison led the Lady Bears with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Panthers raced out to a 10-2 lead in the game's first four minutes with baskets from four different starters. After UNI ran the early lead to 17-7, Missouri State countered with a 7-0 run to pull within 17-14. The Panthers responded with an 8-0 run of their own that was capped by an Oney three-pointer, stretching the margin to 11 points at 25-14.
UNI led 36-25 at halftime behind 14 first-half points from Oney, who was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the game's first 20 minutes. As a team, the Panthers were 6-of-6 on three-point attempts in the opening half. Missouri State shot just 11-of-33 (33.3 percent) and was 1-of-10 on free throws at the break.
The Panthers opened a 14-point lead on two different occasions in the second half, but a late Missouri State rally - including a 14-4 Lady Bears run that featured 10 points from Garrison - cut the lead to one point at 55-54 with 2:21 remaining. Back-to-back buckets from Morgan and Madrigal put the Panthers up 59-54 with a minute to play, and UNI would add three free throws to score the final seven points and set the final margin at 62-54.
K.K. Armstrong matched her season-high with eight rebounds, helping the Panthers to a 44-38 edge in total rebounds. Armstrong and Oney each notched a season-high in minutes, with 36 and 35, respectively.
Missouri State (8-4, 1-1 MVC) took 17 more shots than UNI, but finished 22-of-65 (33.8 percent) from the floor.
UNI will travel to Evansville on Thurs., Jan. 5, for its first MVC road contest of the season. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES: UNI has now won six of the last eight meetings with Missouri State ... K.K. Armstrong moved to 963 points in her career with nine points today ... UNI's 7-13 mark (53.8 percent) from three-point range was its best percentage of the season ... the Panthers had been outrebounded by 28 and 22 in their last two games before winning the battle on the glass against the Lady Bears ... UNI held the opposition to a field goal percentage under 36 percent for the fifth time this season.
