University of Northern Iowa
14-11,11-7MVC
Southern Illinois
8-15,5-13MVC
Panthers End the Regular Season With a 23-Point Victory Over SIU
3/6/2021 6:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Panthers swept Southern Illinois in a 64-41 win Saturday afternoon and closed out the regular season 14-11 overall and 12-7 in conference play. With an explosive third quarter, the Panthers gained the 25-point lead, aiding in the 23-point victory.
Emerson Green started the third quarter race off with a three-pointer. Megan Maahs, Maya McDermott and Kayba Laube all followed suite scoring four or more points. With 54 seconds left, Laube made her first three-pointer and not even 30 seconds later would she make another that ended the quarter 51-25 for the Panthers.
Laube recorded another pair of back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter that allowed for the Panther's largest lead of 30 points. She ended the afternoon with 12 points, all of which were in the second half of the game.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. UNI shot 40.0% from the field in the second quarter and SIU only shot 23.1% (3-13) from the field. The Panthers and the Salukis matched free-throw percentage in the second quarter, each landed 25.0% from the charity stripe but neither team scored more than ten points as they went into halftime.
Maahs held the game-high 14 points and advanced into the No. 17 spot on the All-Time scoring list with a career total of 1,085 points. Green followed with 13 points and Bre Gunnels led the team in rebounds for the second night in a row with nine total.
Makenzie Silvey led SIU with 10 points and recorded two steals on the night and Allea Potter followed with eight more points that added to the Salukis 41 total points.
Closing out the regular season with a series sweep against the Salukis leads the Panthers into preparation for the Hoops in the Heartland Tournament Mar. 11-14. The Panthers claim the fourth seed in the Missouri Valley Conference and will play Bradley in the opening round of the tournament.
GAME NOTES:
- Kayba Laube went 4-6 from behind the arc and made all four three-pointers within the second quarter.
- Megan Maahs lands in the No. 17 spot on the All-Time Scoring list with 1,085 total points.
- Bre Gunnels led the team in rebounds with nine in total.
- Emerson Green made a three-pointer to start a quarter or immediately out of a timeout in each quarter except for the second.
- UNI claims the fourth seed following Illinois State in MVC Standings.
