Panthers Fall To No. 23 Hawkeyes, 80-65

Sunday, November 22

Cedar Falls, Iowa

2 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

2-1

Iowa

4-0

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Iowa	24	24	15	17	80
UNI	15	21	15	14	65

Panthers Fall To No. 23 Hawkeyes, 80-65

11/22/2015 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score In PDF

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team fought an in-state battle against the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday afternoon, falling 80-65. The Panthers are now 2-1 overall this season.

UNI was led by Amber Sorenson, who finished the game with a career-high 23 points on seven made three-pointers. Madison Weekly also jumped into double-figures, scoring 17 points along with three assists and three steals. Freshman Mikaela Morgan dominated the boards for the Panthers, recording a career-high 11, throwing in seven points in 16 minutes of play.

The Panthers opened the first quarter with back-to-back three pointers from Weekly and Sorenson, taking a 6-4 lead in just the first minute of the game. Iowa fired back, shooting 3-for-3 from the field, coming back to take a 9-6 lead. Both teams struggled from the field heading into the first media timeout of the game, with Iowa holding an 11-10 lead at the 4:20 mark.

Iowa was able to get out of its drought, going on a 7-0 run over a minute period to give them a 20-12 advantage with less than three minutes to play in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes held a 24-15 lead heading into the second quarter, with the Panthers shooting just 2-for-17 of their last shots to end to the first quarter.

UNI started to chip away at Iowa's lead in the second quarter, hitting consecutive treys from Weekly and Mikaela Morgan, making it an eight-point game at the 7:02 mark. Iowa jumped back out to a 10-point lead, but Weekly drained another three-pointer to make it 34-26 with 5:03 remaining in the quarter.

Another three-pointer brought the Panthers within six points, when Sorenson knocked one down at the 2:58 mark in the second quarter, but Iowa answered with a 7-2 run to take a 43-34 lead. The Panthers headed into halftime down 48-36, shooting 42 percent from the arc.

UNI trailed the Hawkeyes 53-43 heading into the 4:57 media timeout in the third quarter, after trailing by as much as 14 to start the quarter. Iowa continued to press the Panthers, extending their lead to 16 points before Sorenson hit a trey to make it 63-51 heading into the final quarter of the game.

Iowa opened the fourth quarter shooting 4-for-5 from the field to take a 72-55 lead with less than six minutes to play in the game. Sorenson answered with back-to-back three-pointers, but Iowa fired right back with a three of their own to take a 75-58 lead with 5:17 on the clock.

Unfortunately, UNI was unable to cut the lead back down, eventually falling 80-65 to the Hawkeyes. UNI will return to action when they travel to Cancun, Mexico for the Cancun Challenge. The Panthers will take on Georgia Tech on Nov. 26 and Seton Hall on Nov. 27, with both games tipping off at 8 p.m. CT.

Post-Game Notes vs. Iowa

Amber Sorenson finished the game against Iowa with 23 points, tying her career-high that was set last season against Bradley.
Amber Sorenson knocked down seven three-pointers against Iowa, tying her career-high for three-pointers made in a game and was just one shy of tying the school record. Her nine three pointers this season moves her to seventh all-time at UNI in career treys made.
In just 16 minutes of play, freshman Mikaela Morgan racked up 11 boards and seven points. Her 11 rebounds was a career-high for the true freshman with her now averaging 5.0 rebounds through three games.
Sharnae Lamar finished the game against the Hawkeyes with four rebounds, five points, six assists and five steals. It marks the second consecutive game she has recorded five or more assists and ties her career-high in steals (5 vs. Bradley, Jan. 2, 2015).
For the third consecutive game, UNI has outscored its opponent on points off turnovers, recording a 20-13 advantage in that statistic over the Hawkeyes.