Tuesday, December 4
Cedar Falls, Iowa
7 p.m.
University of Northern Iowa
5-3
64
vs
60
University of North Dakota
2-5
1
2
3
4
F
North Dakota
11
14
14
21
60
UNI
13
17
17
17
64
UNI Women's Hoops Holds Off North Dakota
12/4/2018 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Spurred by big plays from seniors Ellie Howell and Mikaela Morgan, the UNI women's basketball team held off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by North Dakota to earn a 64-60 win Tuesday evening at the McLeod Center.
North Dakota led early, but UNI battled back to take a 13-11 lead after the first quarter. The Panthers then trailed 25-24 with 2:55 to play in the half before closing the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 30-25 lead into the break.
UNI built a 47-37 lead with 1:39 left in the third, but UNI cut it to 47-39 to start the quarter. North Dakota rallied in the fourth, but a combined 13 points from Howell and Morgan helped stem the tide.
With just over a minute left, North Dakota connected on a three-pointer to cut the lead to 60-58, but Karli Rucker responded with a layup to extend the lead to 62-58. The Fighting Hawks scored a bucket with 11 seconds left, but Morgan iced the game with eight seconds remaining to close scoring.
UNI is now 3-0 in the McLeod Center and 5-3 on the season. North Dakota is 2-5 on the year but has yet to play a home game with a brutal season-opening schedule.
THE PLAY OF THE GAME…
Rucker's clutch layup with just 30 left put the Panthers up two possessions and effectively put the game out of reach for UND.
THE PLAYER OF THE GAME…
Mikaela Morgan scored 17 points, her season high and just one short of her career high of 18. She was a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line which gave her career highs in makes and attempts. She is now 17-19 on the season. She also added a game-high three steals and team-high three assists.
THE STAT OF THE GAME…
UNI was aggressive from the tip and forced North Dakota into 30 personal fouls. The Panthers went 19-25 from the line and three UND players fouled out of the game.
UP NEXT…
UNI now has 12 days off until its next game, a road tilt at the University of Iowa 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
North Dakota led early, but UNI battled back to take a 13-11 lead after the first quarter. The Panthers then trailed 25-24 with 2:55 to play in the half before closing the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 30-25 lead into the break.
UNI built a 47-37 lead with 1:39 left in the third, but UNI cut it to 47-39 to start the quarter. North Dakota rallied in the fourth, but a combined 13 points from Howell and Morgan helped stem the tide.
With just over a minute left, North Dakota connected on a three-pointer to cut the lead to 60-58, but Karli Rucker responded with a layup to extend the lead to 62-58. The Fighting Hawks scored a bucket with 11 seconds left, but Morgan iced the game with eight seconds remaining to close scoring.
UNI is now 3-0 in the McLeod Center and 5-3 on the season. North Dakota is 2-5 on the year but has yet to play a home game with a brutal season-opening schedule.
THE PLAY OF THE GAME…
Rucker's clutch layup with just 30 left put the Panthers up two possessions and effectively put the game out of reach for UND.
THE PLAYER OF THE GAME…
Mikaela Morgan scored 17 points, her season high and just one short of her career high of 18. She was a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line which gave her career highs in makes and attempts. She is now 17-19 on the season. She also added a game-high three steals and team-high three assists.
THE STAT OF THE GAME…
UNI was aggressive from the tip and forced North Dakota into 30 personal fouls. The Panthers went 19-25 from the line and three UND players fouled out of the game.
UP NEXT…
UNI now has 12 days off until its next game, a road tilt at the University of Iowa 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Team Stats
UND
UNI
FG%
.407
.364
3FG%
.429
.294
FT%
.714
.760
RB
32
38
TO
18
16
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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