UNI Opens MVC Play with 70-41 Win Over Loyola

Friday, December 29

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

5-7, 1-0

Loyola (celebrating MVC women's history)

2-10, 0-1

Loyola

UNI

UNI Opens MVC Play with 70-41 Win Over Loyola

12/29/2017 9:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The temperature outside of the McLeod Center might have been below freezing on Friday night, but the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team (5-7, 1-0 MVC) was on fire as the Panthers had no trouble with Loyola-Chicago (2-10, 0-1 MVC) on their way to a 70-41 victory.

The game marked UNI's fourth-straight win to open MVC play. With the victory UNI improved to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Loyola dropped to 2-10 on the year and 0-1 in league action.

Junior Mikaela Morgan turned in a sensational effort, tying her career-high with 18 points to lead the Panthers. The Coralville, Iowa native was an efficient 6-of-8 on the night, while hitting 4-of-6 from beyond-the-arc. Freshman Nicole Kroeger scored 11 points off the bench, after knocking down a trio of 3-pointers. Loyola's Abby O'Connor led the Ramblers in scoring, with 11 points for the game.

Overall, the Panthers shot 28-of-56 (50.0%) for the game, while holding the Ramblers to 17-of-49 shooting (34.9%). The shooting effort for UNI marked the second game this season (UW-Parkside) that the Panthers have shot over 50% from the floor.

UNI sprinted out to a 10-0 lead early in the opening period, after a balanced attack that saw four different Panthers score buckets. The Panthers rode the early momentum to a 17-12 lead to cap the first quarter, as Morgan paced the squad with six points.

In the second quarter, the Panthers put their foot on the gas and outscored the Ramblers 24-8 in the period. Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick spearheaded the attack with a trio of layups, while freshman Kroeger knocked down a pair of 3-pointers off the bench to give UNI a 41-20 lead at halftime.

The hot shooting continued into the third quarter, with the Panthers building as large as a 27-point lead over the Ramblers midway through the period. Morgan led the charge out the locker room as the junior added six points to her career-night as UNI closed out the quarter with a 58-32 advantage. The Panthers cleared the bench in the fourth quarter as UNI coasted to a 70-41 victory over Loyola to secure the MVC win.

UP NEXT
UNI caps the weekend against Valparaiso on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The meeting on the hardwood between the Panthers and Crusaders will be the first in the series.

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

UNI improved to 8-3 all-time against Loyola.
The Panthers have now won the last four meetings in the series.
Loyola has not won in Cedar Falls since Dec. 12, 1984.
UNI is now 12-15 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers, while earning a 7-4 mark under head coach Tanya Warren.
The Panthers have now won four-straight MVC openers under Warren.
The 21-point lead at halftime was UNI's largest of the season.
Junior Mikaela Morgan tied her career-high in points, after scoring 18 on Friday night.
The double-digit effort for freshman Nicole Kroeger was her second of the season.
Sophomore Rose Simon-Ressler earned her fourth-career start as a Panther.
Head coach Tanya Warren earned her 191st career win at UNI, which moves her into fourth place in the MVC. Warren was tied with Creighton's Jim Flanery (2003-13) before Friday night's victory.
Attendance for Friday's game was 1,234.