University of Northern Iowa
Indiana State
UNI Drops Battle Against Indiana State, 60-53
1/3/2014 1:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team fell 60-53 in a close battle against Indiana State in its Missouri Valley Conference opener. The Panthers now have an overall record of 4-8.
Ty Smith led the Panthers with a season-high 15 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Brittni Donaldson and Jen Keitel both added nine points while Hannah Schonhardt finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Indiana State jumped on the board first, knocking down two free throws from Marina Laramie to take a 2-0 lead after the Sycamores missed three straight layups. The free throws sparked a 9-0 run for the Sycamores capped off by a mid-range jumper from Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir to give them the 9-0 lead with 15:31 left in the first half.
Indiana State extended its run to 13-0 before Alyssa Johnson hit the Panthers first field goal of the game at the 13:40 mark in the half to make the score 13-2. Smith then buried a three-pointer with 8:31 on the clock to cut it to a 13 point, 22-9 Indiana State lead after another Sycamore run.
Smith cut the Indiana State lead to 12 points after she put a spin move on the Sycamore defense to grab a layup, making the score 30-18 with 1:21 left in the half. She then knocked down her second three-pointer of the game to put UNI within 11 with 28 seconds left to send Indiana State into halftime with a 32-21 lead.
The Panthers found themselves within nine points at the 17:10 mark in the second half after Schonhardt found Keitel under the basket for an easy layup to make the score 37-28. UNI then went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit from 13 points to five after Schonhardt hit two free throws and scored six straight points to make the score 45-40 with 7:52 left in the game.
UNI came within three points of the Sycamores when Keitel snuck a pass into the lane for a layup from Stephanie Davison, slicing the Indiana State lead to 52-49 with 4:03 remaining. Indiana State was then able to turn it into a two-possession game with UNI unable to make up the deficit, eventually falling 60-53.
Post-Game Notes vs. Indiana State
Ty Smith finished with a season-high 15 points against Indiana State. Her career-high is 26 points which she set while playing at Iowa Western during the 2012-13 season.
The last time UNI opened the first weekend of MVC play against the preseason No. 1 pick was during the 2011-12 season when the Panthers defeated preseason favorite Missouri State in the second game of the weekend.
UNI has opened MVC play on the road against Indiana State and Illinois State three times out of the last four seasons.
Ty Smith came into the game against Indiana State shooting 40 percent from the free throw line. She finished 5-of-5 from the free throw line against the Sycamores.
Jen Keitel finished with nine points against the Sycamores, scoring all of them in the second half. She also notched five rebounds.
