UNI women's basketball returns to the road with Illinois swing

UNI women's basketball at Illinois State

6 p.m. | Jan. 27
Normal, Ill. | Redbird Arena (9,600)
ESPN+ (Announcers TBA)
1540 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhaus-Schulz: Play-by-Play)

UNI women's basketball at Bradley

2 p.m. | Jan. 29
Peoria, Ill. | Renaissance Coliseum (4,200)
ESPN+ (Announcers TBA)
UNIPanthers.com : Panther Sports Network (Chris Kleinhaus-Schulz: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Panther women's basketball team hits the road for the final week of the month to take on two vastly different Illinois-based MVC teams.

After falling to in-state rival Drake on the road, UNI looks to return to their winning ways this week against Illinois State and Bradley. The Panthers will begin their road trip in Normal to take on the MVC-leading Redbirds before heading to Peoria for a matchup with the last-place Braves. Last season UNI won both games against the Redbirds but split their two games with the Braves.

THE PANTHERS:
- On Friday evening against Drake, the Panthers had a season-high 10 blocks, just two shy of the program record. Senior forward Bre Gunnels also tied her career-high for blocks in a game with 5 blocks against the Bulldogs.
- Despite the loss, UNI took more attempted shots on Friday than almost any game this year. With 70 baskets attempted against the Bulldogs, the Panthers had their second highest game for field goal attempts behind only the win against Graceland with 76 attempted field goals.
- The Panthers continued their stellar ways when it came to possession on Friday. UNI had just 9 turnovers against the Drake Bulldogs, making it the 6th game this season for the Panthers with single-digit turnovers.
- Speaking of turnovers, UNI currently leads the MVC in fewest turnovers this season with 198. That also puts the Panthers 18th in the nation at fewest turnovers.

THE REDBIRDS:
- Illinois State is having one of their best seasons in a decade, currently leading the MVC at 6-1 for the first time since 2009-10 when the Redbirds started 15-1 in MVC action on the way to a regular season title.
- In particular the Redbirds had a big win on Saturday on the road against Missouri State. The Redbirds 52-51 win over the Lady Bears snapped Missouri State's 15-game home winning streak.
- Illinois State is led by 5th-year guard Juliunn Redmond and junior forward DeAnna Wilson. Both players average 14 points a game for the Redbirds with Wilson also averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Redmond and Wilson have also both been honored as MVC Player of the Week over the course of the season.
- Also receiving MVC Player of the Week honors for the Redbirds is redshirt junior Mary Crompton. ISU is the only program in the conference to have three different players recognized as MVC Player of the Week.

THE BRAVES:
- After losing all but two starter in the offseason, Bradley has had a rocky first half of the season. The Braves kicked off the year with three straight wins, including a win against the Wisconsin Badgers at home. Since then Bradley has struggled to find a win, getting close against Evansville, Loyola, and Valparaiso.
- The Braves begin a strong home stretch this week after spending 10 of the last 13 games on the road. Bradley will have four games at home starting with a game on Thursday against the Drake Bulldogs.
- Bradley lost one of their two returning starters to injury at the beginning of the MVC portion of the schedule. Fifth-year senior Gabi Haack suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Braves game against Illinois State at the beginning of 2022. Haack is a three time All-Valley First Team selection, a two time preseason All-MVC team selection, and the reigning MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
- With Haack out for the season, the Braves are led by freshman guard Caroline Waite. Waite currently averages 12.2 points a game and 1.8 assists a game. In her first year as a Brave, Waite has been named MVC Newcomer of the Week once and made the Bradley Athletic Director Honor Roll for the fall semester.

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