Second-Half Surge Pushes No. 25 Iowa Past UNI

Sunday, December 17

Cedar Falls, Iowa

2 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-7

Iowa (wear ugly holiday sweater)

11-1

IOWA

UNI

Second-Half Surge Pushes No. 25 Iowa Past UNI

12/17/2017 5:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FINAL STATS

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa. – Despite only trailing by four points at halftime, the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team (3-7) couldn't hold off No. 25 Iowa (11-1) as the Hawkeyes downed the Panthers, 71-47.

The Panthers only trailed 28-24 at the break, but the Hawkeyes outscored UNI 43-23 in the second half to pull away with the road win.

The victory extended the Hawkeyes win streak over the Panthers, as Iowa improved to 11-1 on the season. UNI fell to 3-7 overall with the loss, with only one non-conference game remaining.

UNI was led by sophomore Megan Maahs, who posted her fourth double-double of the season after scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds. Iowa was also led by a "Megan" of their own, as Megan Gustafson scored a game-high 26 points and added 10 rebounds as well to finish with a double-double.

The Hawkeyes shot 51.9% (28-of-54) on Sunday, while the Panthers were at 28.6% (18-of-63) for the game. Iowa also had an advantage at the charity stripe, as the Hawkeyes got to the line 19 times, while the Panthers only managed five trips.

Iowa opened Sunday's game with a 10-2 lead, before the Panthers shifted momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers from Maahs to close out the quarter only down 12-10. The Hawkeyes got out to another hot start to begin the second quarter, but the Panthers countered with an 8-2 run that was spurred on by a pair of Kennedy Kirkpatrick baskets to close the half only trailing 28-24.

The third quarter was marked by another hot start for Iowa, but UNI couldn't keep up this time as the Panthers fell behind 50-36 heading into the final period. Iowa rode its second-half momentum to another 20-point quarter in the fourth, to cap the final score at 71-47.

UP NEXT
The Panthers hit the road for their last non-conference game of the season, as UNI travels to Kansas State on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. CT.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase season and single-game tickets to UNI women's basketball home games through UNITIX. Call 319-273-4849 or visit www.UNITIX.uni.edu.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the UNI women's basketball program, follow the Panthers on Twitter at "@UNIWBB" and on Facebook at "UNI Women's Basketball."

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The Panthers held the Hawkeyes to their second-lowest point total on the season, Iowa was averaging 84.6 points per contest entering Sunday.
Sophomore Megan Maahs earned her fourth double-double of the season, after scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds for the game.
Maahs earned her team-high eighth game in double digits for points.
Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick earned her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
The start for freshman Nicole Kroeger was her fourth-straight.
Attendance for Sunday's game was 3,008.