University of Northern Iowa
17-13,11-7MVC
Ole Miss
15-11,4-10SEC
Panthers Fall to Ole Miss in WNIT Semifinals
3/26/2021 9:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
COLLIERVILLE, Tn. – The women's basketball team suffered a tough loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the first-ever WNIT semifinal game for the Panthers. Ole Miss used thier height and tough defense against the Panthers forcing a 60-50 win and a trip to the WNIT championship game.
The Panthers struggled to start offensively in the first half of the game. UNI and Ole Miss matched scores early in the first quarter but Ole Miss began to pull away ending the first ten minutes of the game on an 8-1 run and a nine-point lead on the Panthers, 20-11.
Ole Miss came into the second quarter strong and kept the Panthers from scoring in the first three minutes. Maya McDermott and Grace Boffeli made back-to-back buckets that started the Panther's offense and brought the panthers within six points of the Rebels, 22-16 with six minutes until halftime. Despite the Panther run, Ole Miss countered and went into halftime with a 10-point lead.
The third quarter accounted for multiple counters by Ole Miss to any Panther bucket. UNI would get as close as eight points but struggled to find a closer gap. UNI outscored the Rebels in the fourth quarter but the efforts would not stop the Rebels from moving onto the WNIT Championship game.
Karli Rucker led the team with 16 points and five assists. She ends the season with 1,429 total points and claims the No. 7 spot on the All-Time Scoring list. The Panthers shot 31.6% from the field and 88.8% from the charity stripe but struggled to find the hoop from the three-point line, only shooting 27.3%.
Shakira Austin led Ole Miss to the 10-point win with a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Madison Scott grabbed a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ole Miss shot 45.1% from the field and out-rebounded UNI 41-29.
Megan Maahs ended her career as a Panther with 1,140 points claiming the No. 15 spot on the All-Time Scoring list and is No. 2 on the All-Time Rebounding list with 882 rebounds. She led the Panthers with a team-high eight rebounds tonight and brought the Panthers within 10 points with 48 seconds left in the semifinal game and made a pair of free-throws rounding out her career.
GAME NOTES:
- The Panthers have made program history with their WNIT run in the 2020-21 season making it to the semifinals.
- Karli Rucker was the only Panther to score in double-digits with 16 points.
- Megan Maahs ended the season in the No. 15 spot on the All-Time Scoring list with 1,140 points and NO. 2 on the All-Time Rebounding list with 882 rebounds.
- Grace Boffeli recorded a new career-high two blocks.
- Kam Finley tied her career-high four steals.
