University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
Madrigal, Armstrong Lead UNI to 79-73 Win Over Illinois State
1/14/2012 1:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Rachel Madrigal scored a career-high 22 points and K.K. Armstrong came up just one assist short of the second triple-double in school history as the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team took care of Illinois State 79-73 on Saturday afternoon in the McLeod Center.
Madrigal's 22 points surpassed her previous career-high of 18. Armstrong put up 17 points, a career-high-tying 10 rebounds, and a career-best 9 assists. Senior Katelin Oney and junior Mercedees Morgan scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, to give UNI four players in double figures.
UNI (11-6, 4-2 MVC) shot 27-of-61 (44.3 percent) for the game, topping Illinois State's 28-of-68 (41.2 percent) effort from the floor. The Panthers out-rebounded the Redbirds by a 44-36 margin.
The Panthers racked up 22 assists and shot 10-of-28 from beyond the arc in the game.
Illinois State (8-8, 3-2 MVC) was led by Jamie Russell's 24-point, nine-rebound effort.
UNI's only deficit of the game came 36 seconds into the contest when Illinois State's Marley Hall made a bucket to put the Redbirds up 2-0. The Panthers responded with an 8-0 run that expanded into a 17-3 run capped by a Madrigal three-pointer, giving UNI a 17-5 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the opening period.
The Redbirds cut the UNI lead to five points at 23-18, but UNI pushed its margin back to 36-28 at halftime.
In the second half, the Panthers opened up a 13-point lead on three different occasions, never letting Illinois State get closer than seven points until a basket by Russell in the final minute set the final margin at 79-73. Armstrong recorded 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in the final 20 minutes.
With the other Missouri Valley Conference results on Saturday afternoon, UNI moved into sole possession of third place in the league standings. Wichita State (5-0) and Indiana State (4-1) are currently atop the conference.
UNI remains at home to host Bradley on Fri., Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center.
NOTES: After playing 109 career games without recording a double-double, K.K. Armstrong accomplished the feat twice in less than 48 hours ... Armstrong had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists against Indiana State on Jan. 12 ... Armstrong was one assist shy of recording the second triple-double in UNI history and the 11th in MVC history ... Madrigal's 22 points topped her previous career best of 18, which she last achieved against Wyoming on Nov. 25 ... Madrigal tied a career-high with four three-pointers ... Madrigal played 39 minutes on Saturday, giving her five consecutive games with 37 minutes or more ... Mercedees Morgan dished out five assists in a game for the third time this season ... the Panthers are now 7-1 when they out-rebound their opponent and 11-0 when holding the opposition to below 44 percent shooting.
