University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
Panthers Claim Second Straight MVC Tournament Championship With 69-41 Win Over Missouri State
3/13/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 13, 2011
The Panthers celebrate their second straight MVC Tournament title by doing the Interlude Dance
ST. CHARLES,
UNI went on a 17-0 run early in the first half and led by double digits the rest of the way. Four Panthers scored in double figures, led by K.K. Armstrong came off the bench to tally 14 points and dish out three assists, and Jacqui Kalin finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Amber Kirschbaum notched her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kalin earned all-tournament MVP honors, and Armstrong and Lizzie Boeck each earned spots on the all-tournament team.
Casey Garrison led the Lady Bears (23-10) with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Panthers held MSU to its lowest point total of the season.
Kalin started the Panther run when she hit her second three of the game at 14:48 to break a 5-5 tie. Lizzie Boeck found Rachel Madrigal cutting to the basket for a layup, and Armstrong scored a layup as she was fouled for a three-point play. Kalin knocked down her third three of the game two minutes later, and Kirschbaum followed with a layup to give UNI an 18-5 lead. Katelin Oney hit a three, and she made one of two free throws to cap a 17-0 UNI run that put the Panthers in front 22-5 with 9:19 on the clock.
Christiana Shorter ended the UNI run with a layup, but Oney answered at the other end with a three to extend UNI's lead to 25-7 with 8:35 left in the half.
Armstrong answered a pair of MSU baskets with a pair of her own, and the junior took a steal from midcourt to the basket on UNI's next possession. The layup wouldn't fall, but she was fouled on the attempt, and her two free throws gave UNI a 31-11 lead at 6:23.
Kirschbaum stretched the UNI advantage to 33-11 with a pair of free throws at 4:57.
Casey Garrison scored at 4:40 to cut the UNI lead to 20, but Kirschbaum hit a jumper at 2:30 to bring the UNI lead to 35-13. Garrison scored on MSU's next trip, and both teams were held scoreless the rest of the half to make the halftime score 35-15 in favor of the Panthers.
Boeck hit a three coming out of the break, and Kirschbaum followed with a baseline jumper to extend UNI's lead to 40-15.
MSU scored four straight points, but the Panthers responded with a 13-0 run that stretched the UNI lead to 53-21 with 12:41 remaining.
Leading 62-32, Brocka hit a three from the left baseline and Armstrong drove for a layup to give the Panthers a 67-32 lead, their largest of the game.
UNI led by at least 30 points until a Garrison jumper with 31 seconds left brought the final score to 69-41.
The Panthers shot 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) from the floor, including 9-of-30 (30 percent) from three-point range. UNI finished 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free-throw line.
The Panthers turned MSU's 15 turnovers into 21 points. UNI's 14 turnovers resulted in 10 points for the Lady Bears.
UNI will learn who and when it plays next when the NCAA reveals its bracket on Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The Panthers will host a selection show watch party that is open to the public in the Alumni Suite of the
