UNI Travels East for Final Regular-Season Road Swing

GAME NOTES

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team (15-12, 11-5 MVC) hits the road for the final time in the 2017-18 regular season, as the Panthers take on Valparaiso (12-15, 5-11 MVC) and Loyola (7-20, 5-11 MVC) on Thursday and Saturday.

The Panthers and Crusaders will tipoff at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, while action against the Ramblers will commence at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday.

HOW TO TUNE IN
Both games will be televised on ESPN3. Fans can also listen at www.Panthers.com as Chris Kleinhans-Schulz calls the action.

LIVE STATS
Live stats will be made available via the UNI athletics website (www.UNIPanthers.com). Fans and media can visit @UNIWBB on Twitter for links to the feed.

NEED TO KNOW

UNI (15-12, 11-5 MVC) closes out the regular-season slate at Valparaiso and Loyola on Thursday and Saturday, with Hoops in the Heartland on the horizon.
Last weekend, the Panthers swept Illinois State and Bradley, giving head coach Tanya Warren her 200th and 201st career-victories. Warren is the fifth women's basketball coach in MVC history to eclipse the 200-win mark, while owning the distinction as the only active coach in the Valley with at least 200 victories.
Under head coach Tanya Warren, the Panthers are a perfect 73-0 when holding an opponent to 50 points or less. Last weekend, the Panthers added Illinois State (50) and Bradley (48) to that total.
This season, sophomore Megan Maahs has earned a league-high 10 double-doubles this season, with the total being the most for any Panther since Alex Cook earned 10 in 2004-05. Maahs ranks third all-time at UNI with 271 total rebounds and fourth all-time with 190 defensive rebounds.
Maahs is averaging a double-double this season, with 10.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per outing.

SERIES WITH VALPO/LOYOLA

UNI took both contests from Valparaiso and Loyola in the first meeting, with the Panthers handling the Crusaders and Ramblers with ease to open the MVC slate.
The Panthers held Valparaiso (56) and Loyola (41) to a combined 97 points over the weekend.
Overall, UNI has won its last two meetings over Valpo and four-straight against Loyola. The Panthers have not played at Valpo since 2005, which the Crusaders won 62-48.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS/RAMBLERS

Both Valpo and Loyola sit near the bottom of the MVC standings, with each squad owning a 5-11 league record entering the final two games of the season.
The Crusaders are led by senior forward Dani Franklin, whose 15.9 scoring average is tied for first in the Valley.
The Ramblers are led by freshman guard Abby O'Connor, who owns a 10.9 scoring clip this season.

50-POINT CLUB GROWS

Under head coach Tanya Warren, the Panthers are undefeated when holding an opponent to 50 points or less.
Over her 11-year career at the helm, Tanya Warren has earned a 73-0 record against foes when holding them to 50 points or less.
Warren's highest total for a season was in 2015-16, when the Panthers held 12 foes to 50 points or less.
This season, the Panthers are 8-0 when holding an opponent to 50 points or less.

PANTHER SHARP SHOOTERS

UNI has knocked down 203-of-651 (31.2%) from 3-point land this season.
The 203 made 3-pointers this season rank as the third-most in the MVC and 10th most in a season at UNI. The 2017-18 Panthers are one behind 2007-08's 204.
The Panthers are averaging 7.5 made 3-pointers a game.
Last season, the Panthers shot 250-848 (29.5%) from beyond the arc to average 7.6 made 3-pointers a game.
Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick leads UNI with 40 made 3-pointers this season.

UNI CONTROLS THE GLASS

This season, the Panthers rank first in the MVC with a 5.3 rebounding margin over foes.
UNI has outrebounded 21 foes this season, with the highest margin of 18 coming against Wyoming earlier in November.
When outrebounding teams this season, UNI is 14-7 on the season.
The Panthers are averaging 39.9 rebounds per contest, which also ranks first in the MVC.

MAAHS CLIMBS UP ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD

Sophomore Megan Maahs has had a sensational season rebounding the ball in 2017-18.
Maahs currently sits third all-time for most rebounds in a season (271) at UNI, while ranking fourth all-time for most defensive rebounds in a season (190).
If the season ended today, her 10.0 rebounds per game would rank as the fourth-highest average at UNI for a single-season.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE QUEEN

Sophomore Megan Maahs leads the MVC with 10 double-doubles this season.
That total is the most in a season for UNI since Alex Cook earned 10 in 2004-05.
Maahs ranks 28th in the NCAA for total rebounds per contest at 10.0.
In the MVC, Maahs tops the league this season in rebounds per game (10.0), defensive rebounds per game (7.0) and most double-doubles (10).

SEEING DOUBLE

Three Panthers have collected double-doubles this season, with Megan Maahs (10), Rose Simon-Ressler (2) and Ellie Howell (1) all earning the feat via the points/rebounds path.
Howell's came against Indiana State (1/14) after scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Simon-Ressler's came in back-to-back games against Evansville (2/11) and Drake (2/16)
The double-doubles for Maahs and Howell against INS (1/14) marked the first time UNI had two players record a double-double in the same game since Feb. 2, 2014 versus Drake (Stephanie Davison, Jen Keitel, Hannah Schonhardt).

KIRKPATRICK'S BREAK OUT

Kennedy Kirkpatrick's senior season has been by far her best, as she's earned career-highs in minutes, starts, points, rebounds, assists and steals for her senior campaign.
The Lawrence, Kansas native, has averaged 10.8 points per game, while also leading the Panthers from the 3-point line with 40 made from beyond-the-arc.

ALL WE DO IS WIN

Last season marked the eighth-straight year UNI has won at least 17 or more games.
The win total also marked the 15th season since the women's basketball program joined NCAA Division I basketball in 1982 that the Panthers have achieved at least 17 wins.
Tanya Warren now owns eight seasons with at least 17-plus wins or more in a season, which is more than all other coaches at UNI combined.

HOWELL HEATS UP IN LEAGUE PLAY

This season, redshirt junior Ellie Howell has scored in double figures a team-high 16 times, with 12 of those coming in conference play.
Howell scored a season-high 21 points against Loyola.
During MVC play, Howell is averaging a team-best 11.2 points per outing.

WARREN IN THE VALLEY

Head coach Tanya Warren is fifth all-time wins in the Missouri Valley Conference, with 129 league victories under her belt. Warren is behind Creighton's Jim Flanery (2003-13) who owns 131 wins.

WARREN ON THE VERGE OF 200 WINS

On Feb. 23 against Illinois State, head coach Tanya Warren became the fifth women's basketball coach in the MVC to surpass the 200-win total.
Warren is the only active coach in the Valley to own at least 200 career-victories
Only four coaches in Valley history have crossed the 200-win mark, with SIU's Cindy Scott (353), MSU's Cheryl Burnett (319), Illinois State's Jill Hutchison (277) and Eastern Illinois' Barbara Hilke (231) being the only coaches in league history to do so.

HOOPS IN THE HEARTLAND

Entering the final weekend, the Panthers are projected to be the No. 3 seed for next week's MVC Tournament, with UNI paired with No. 6 seed Illinois State.
The 3-6 game would take place on Friday, March 9 at 8:32 p.m. CT.
Last season, the Panthers earned a No. 2 seed for the tournament, dropping the title game to Drake in overtime, 74-69.

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."

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