University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
22-7, 15-3
Missouri State (Senior Night)
16-13, 12-6
Panthers Win 65-64 On Senior Night vs. Lady Bears
3/4/2017 11:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team took down the Missouri State Lady Bears on Saturday night, 65-64, finishing the regular season 22-7 overall and 15-3 in league play.
UNI completed the year in second place in the Valley, ranking in the top-half of the conference for the eighth straight year. The Panthers are the only school in the MVC to accomplish the feat.
With UNI's win over the Lady Bears, the Panthers' head coach Tanya Warren became UNI's all-time wins leader with 184 career victories. She passed former head coach Tony DiCecco who had 183 wins from 1995-2006.
The Panthers had four players finish in double-digits with sophomore Ellie Herzberg leading the way with 23 points. Madison Weekly added 13 points, three assists and two steals while Mikaela Morgan scored 11 points and Megan Maahs finished with 10.
It was a battle from start to finish tonight against the Lady Bears, with five lead changes and five tied scores throughout the game. Despite two drained three-pointers from Missouri State in the last seven seconds of the game, clutch free throws from Maahs and Herzberg ultimately sealed the Panther victory.
UNI came out cold in the first quarter, shooting 0-of-4 from the three while Missouri State came out firing, hitting 66-percent of its shots. The Panthers headed into the second quarter down 15-8 after having an uncharacteristic six turnovers in the first quarter.
The Panthers defense got stingy in the second quarter, forcing 10 turnovers that eventually led to a three minute scoring drought for the Lady Bears, allowing UNI to tie the game 18-18 with a Herzberg lay-up. It was part of a 6-0 run for the Panthers that eventually gave them a 20-18 lead, but MSU fought back to tie the score 26-26 heading into halftime.
Mikaela Morgan opened the third quarter with a three-pointer to give UNI a one-point lead, but Missouri State answered with seven unanswered points to take a 37-31 advantage. UNI only scored three treys in the third quarter, but two of them came at a key moment with Herzberg hitting back-to-back threes with 2:23 on the clock to tie the score 41-41.
The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead, shooting 61-percent from the floor and 83-percent from the free throw line to keep the momentum going in UNI's favor. UNI led by as many as seven with 3:38 left in the game on a three from Herzberg, but a three-pointer from Liza Fruendt with 2:42 brought Missouri State back within four.
With less than a minute to play, Missouri State was forced to foul. UNI held a 63-58 lead with 15 seconds left, but Lexi Hughes hit a deep three to bring them within two points. Herzberg hit two of her most important points of the game in two free throws with six seconds on the clock, giving UNI a 65-61 lead. Missouri State immediately hit a three-pointer to cut it to one, but UNI threw the ball deep to let time run out and seal its 65-64 win.
UNI will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of the Bradley vs. Loyola game. UNI's game will take place on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. CT in the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.
Post-Game Notes vs. Missouri State
- Madison Weekly scored 13 points tonight against Missouri State, giving her 1,705 in her career. She is now ranked No. 3 all-time at UNI in career points and is just the fourth player in school history to break the 1,700 point mark.
- Head Coach Tanya Warren became UNI's all-time most winningest coach tonight, claiming her 184 career victory.
- UNI finished second in the league with its wins this past weekend, the eighth consecutive season that UNI has placed in the top-half of the conference.
