UNI women's basketball to host final home games

UNI women's basketball vs. Bradley

6 p.m. | Feb. 25
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN+: (Eric Braley: Play-by-Play, Emily Hoffert, Analysis)
1560 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhaus-Schulz: Play-by-Play)

UNI women's basketball vs. Illinois State

2 p.m. | Feb. 27
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN+: (Connor Onion: Play-by-Play, Laura Leonard: Analyst)
1560 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Chris Kleinhaus-Schulz: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The UNI women's basketball team will host its last two home games this weekend against a pair of Illinois MVC opponents.

The final weekend at the McLeod Center will kickoff with a game against the Bradley Braves on Friday night. In the teams last meeting on Jan. 29 the Panthers were victorious in Peoria, winning 60-36 over the Braves. The matchup in Peoria was a season high in rebounds for UNI, with the Panthers grabbing 55 boards off the glass. Then for the final game of the regular season, UNI will take on the Illinois State Redbirds Sunday Feb. 27. The Panthers also won against the Redbirds on the road, pulling out a 74-67 win that came down to the last minute.

The game against the Redbirds will also be Senior Day for the Panthers three seniors, point guard Karli Rucker, guard Nicole Kreoger, and forward Bre Gunnels. The three seniors are all in their 5th year with the women's basketball team and will be honored following the conclusion of the game against Illinois State.

THE PANTHERS:
- The Panthers had another close loss on Saturday to in-state rivals Drake. With 7 lead changes throughout the game it was a tossup until the final minute. A pivotal three-point play for the Bulldogs sealed UNI's loss as they dropped the season series to Drake.
- UNI has secured its 14th consecutive year at .500 or better in Missouri Valley Conference action. UNI's current run of 14 seasons in a row is already the league's longest active streak among all women's and men's basketball programs.
- Senior forward Bre Gunnels set a career-high in blocks Saturday against the Bulldogs. Gunnels made 6 crucial blocks through 33 minutes of play, making her second in the MVC in total blocks and blocked shots per game.
- The Panthers continue to be one of the best teams in the country at the line, especially after an 83% outing on Saturday afternoon. UNI is 32nd in the country and 2nd in the MVC in free throw percentage at 76.0%. Only Illinois State is ahead of the Panthers at 76.5%.

THE BRAVES:
- Since playing each other on Jan. 29, the Braves grabbed their first MVC win against Evansville on Feb. 6 winning 77-67. Since that win Bradley has been on a four-game skid coming into the McLeod Center on Friday evening.
- Five members of the Braves squad this year are Iowa natives with this week's game being a bit of a homecoming. Abbie Draper (Waverly), Sasha Koenig (West Branch), Tatum Koenig (West Branch), Chloe Rice (Marion) and Caroline Waite (Ames) all have ties to the Hawkeye state.
- Freshman guard Caroline Waite has been Bradley's standout player since senior Gabi Haack went down with a season ending knee injury in early January. Waite is the leading underclassman scorer for the MVC averaging 12.6 points per game with five performances of 20 points or more.

THE REDBIRDS:
- After leading the Missouri Valley Conference for most of conference play, the Illinois State Redbirds have taken a step back with home losses to Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The Redbirds are just a game ahead of the Panthers, currently sitting third and fourth in the Valley.
- Illinois State leads the Valley in free throw percentage (76.5%) while attempting the third-most free throws on the season at 439 attempts. JuJu Redmond is the MVC's best shooter from the free throw line, having made a Valley-high 94 free throws on the year while shooting an MVC-best 85.5% from the charity stripe (ranked 42nd nationally).
- With one three pointer this week, Redbird redshirt junior Mary Crompton will tie former Redbird Jenny Schmidt for third in ISU's career three-pointer list. Crompton currently has 204 treys in her career with at least one more year of eligibility after the 2020-2021 season.
- Fifth-year guard JuJu Redmond currently leads the Valley in scoring, averaging 21.5 points a game in the conference season. Redmond is also 83rd in the country when it comes to scoring with her overall 16.8 points per game.

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