UNI women's basketball ends three game skid with win against Bradley

Friday, February 25

Cedar Falls, Iowa

6 PM

University of Northern Iowa

17-9,10-5MVC

Bradley University

4-21,1-15MVC

Bradley

UNI

UNI women's basketball ends three game skid with win against Bradley

2/25/2022 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI women's basketball team snapped their three-game losing skid Friday evening against the Bradley Braves dominating 77-56.

After struggling with slow starts for the past two weeks, the Panthers came out red hot in their game against the Braves. It was a strong shooting performance from the floor for UNI as they hit 50% of their shots and were perfect at the free-throw line. Senior point guard Karli Rucker also climbed the Panther ranks as she moved into sole possession of third most career points, passing former point guard Madison Weekly (2013-2017).

"I think our confidence is growing. You know we were in some uncharted waters with the three-game losing streak. But I thought we were very locked in in our prep. I thought we had great energy. I thought our execution was good. I thought our shoot-around was good and it showed tonight. I like where we're heading. The most important thing is how much better can we be on Sunday than we were today. But I really loved how they responded."

UNI began the game on a quick six-point run putting their frustration with slow starts behind them. It would take close to four and a half minutes for Bradley to make their first shot, a three-point play for forward Isis Fitch. The teams traded layups in the sixth minute of the first until the Panthers closed out the quarter on a 12-2 run highlighted by the first three-pointers of the game from guard Kam Finley and forward Bre Gunnels.
The second would also begin quickly for UNI as forward Emerson Green made a fast break layup less than 30 seconds into the quarter. But it would be a fairly quiet first half of the second as only 10 points was scored between the two. For the rest of the quarter, the two teams would trade shots, with UNI growing their lead out to 17 by the end of the half.

It'd take almost a full minute after halftime for the Panthers to get back on offense as Rucker made a jump shot in the paint at 9:19. The Braves would answer with a three-point second-chance shot. But UNI would start another run, collecting seven points in a minute 30. Fitch responded for Bradly by getting her second three-point play of the game, kicking off another seven-point Panther run. The Braves responded with their best run of the quarter, making four baskets in over a minute. But UNI would keep responding to end the quarter up by 29.

Bradley would get the first basket of the final frame over a minute into the quarter as leading scorer Caroline Waite made a three-point play of her own. But a second-chance layup for forward Grace Boffeli would give the Panthers their largest lead of the game at 30 with seven minutes to go. It'd be back and forth basketball until the Braves put up a nine-point run with two minutes to go. But a foul on guard Kayba Laube would be the final play for UNI as Laube made both. The Panthers would hang onto the basketball until the final 5 seconds, winning against Bradley 77-56.

UNI had their best shooting night in three weeks going 28-56 (50.0%) from the floor. The Panthers were also 9-31 (29.0%) from three-point range and a perfect 12-12 from the free-throw line. UNI also won the rebounding game by double-digits, raking in 42 boards compared to Bradley's 31. The Panthers also added in 16 assists, three steals, and five blocks as a team.

Four players were in double-digits for UNI, including leading scorer Kam Finley (15), Maya McDermott (12), Karli Rucker (10), and Grace Boffeli (10). Center Cynthia Wolf had the best night off the glass with 12 rebounds while Gunnels and Boffeli followed close behind with nine and eight respectively. McDermott led the way in assists with five while Wolf had four.

UP NEXT:
The Panthers play their final home game of the 2021-2022 regular season on Sunday, Feb. 27. UNI will take on the Illinois State Redbirds in the MVC Wildcard Game, showcased on ESPN+ in additional markets. It will also be Senior Day to honor the Panthers three graduating seniors, Karli Rucker, Nicole Kreoger, and Bre Gunnels. Tipoff on Sunday is set for 2 p.m. from the McLeod Center.